Entrepreneurship: America vs Europe

In catching up on some old Mauldin letters, I came across this interesting factoid:

The Washington Post this June states, "In France, not a single enterprise founded in the past 40 years has managed to break into the ranks of the 25 biggest French companies. By comparison, 19 of today's largest U.S. companies didn't exist 4 decades ago. That's why France is looking to the United States for lessons."

I think this is consistent with the general observation that Europe is mired in class and social heirarchy, while America, though much less than in its heyday, still values and rewards accomplishments and ability.