For the benefit of the uninitiated here who loosely use the word pedigree to support their arguments (on both sides), please read the book 'Pedigree' by Lauren A. Riveira. She details, through interviews and on-the-ground work behind the scenes at the most prestigious global law firms, consultancies and investment banks, how pedigree confers tangible and substantial starting career benefits to those born with privileged parents and her book completely destroys the notion of social upward mobility at least within elite careers.

Pedigree is not of school, nor character or parents alone. It is the cumulative sum of voluntary and involuntary upbringing and characteristics that distinguish the elite in society from the hoi polloi or even middle-class families when applying for the most prestigious and highest-paying starting jobs today.