In the best sense, De Soto has discovered a powerful small idea. Property laws unlock wealth. This can be as true for the Pakistani or Egyptian squatter as it is for an American with his credit cards or home mortgage. The bottom contains huge potential. Two-thirds of the world's people live there.
Most entrepreneurs start at the bottom.
In the wake of 1974's stock market wipeout, capital for American entrepreneurs dried up. The IPO window shut for the decade. Debt financing was available, but at escalating rates and only for the already-rich. Into this dead swamp came risk capitalists bearing small ideas. One was Michael Milken.