I don't believe in luck. I think luck is preparation meeting opportunity, but I felt like I had somewhat prepared myself, but that I had happenstanced into it.
Economist Florian Ederer tells the story of how he got pulled into a fight over an anonymous economics message board as a sort of string of happenstances.
While there are discernible geographic, cultural and other patterns behind many economic inequalities among peoples and nations, there are also sheer happenstances that can play major roles.