Hard work makes you rich, true or false?

Does hard work ensure that someone gets rich? If you ask a CEO of a large company, he will always say that you have to work hard to become rich. But if you ask a street worker if he thinks he gets rich by working hard, he will certainly answer in the negative.

It's all about perception. Everyone will say about themselves that he or she is a hard worker. But as I look at it, there are only a few who have actually accumulated their wealth through hard work. Most are lucky because they are there at the right time and place. So I think working hard alone is not enough to get rich.

What does it take to become rich and independent?

So what does it take to become rich and independent? If hard work is not enough then we must look for other factors that we can influence. I have no answer to this so quickly. Calling that you work hard is not the reason for wealth in my opinion.
Maybe a smart brain? Yes, with that you can do work that people with a lesser mind cannot do. People therefore automatically earn more if they can put their brains to work. But then again, there are plenty of people who are highly skilled and still don't have enough money to say they are rich.

I am convinced that you can make and / or earn money with money. Few people have received proper education after which they find work that earns them so much that they can call themselves rich. And those people have really worked hard for all those years!

So my theory is that you need money to make money.

Even a street worker with money no longer has to get out of bed early in the morning and work hard. If he is smart, he can also work less.

What I want to say, everyone has their own definition of "hard work" and this theory is true for every individual.

So do you think hard work makes someone rich? What other (most likely more important) factors do you think come in play to reach this wealth status?