Vacations to private islands, the freedom to purchase luxury goods and having a chef on site at your holiday home: Money is the gateway to a glamorous lifestyle. But while the trappings of riches can be dazzling, the most reliable routes to obtaining them are far less alluring. 

Some ways of getting rich quickly are time-tested. Marrying “well” is always a sensible option; in 2016, Italian economists found that high net worth households in 21st-century Florence were descended from the same families that paid the most tax in the city in 1427. Basing your prosperity on capturing the heart of a member of a prominent dynasty is imprudent, however. The unfortunate truth is that work, rather than courtship, might be your best bet. 

What kinds of jobs earn the most? It can be tempting to...