It sounds too cliché to say that beautiful people are more successful. A simple argument goes that people who are not necessarily beautiful can be very successful too.

Look at the richest people behind the biggest companies on this planet: Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and Jack Ma. Though they are often seen as charismatic, there’s no talk about how beautiful they are.

Nevertheless, there is a general belief that beautiful people find success more easily. That’s because there is a truth to it.

Celebrities played a role in this. The majority of the celebrities are — well — beautiful people. In a way, a beautiful face is seen as the prerequisite for a celebrity. Because they are well-known and their faces are shown a lot, there is a perception that rich and successful people are beautiful people first and foremost.

This perception is reinforced in the social media-crazed modern world. Now people who simply have good looks can become instantly famous on the internet just by posting their own photos.

They can even make tons of money out of it. Internet celebrities command strangers’ attention on social media such as Instagram and WeChat by posting photos of their ‘perfect’ faces or bodies.

In China, internet celebrity is a booming industry and many people do this for a living. ‘Wanghong’, as they are known in China, is the strong force behind the Chinese digital economy.

However, the fundamental reason is psychological. Our imperfect brain has a cognitive bias, known as ‘halo effect’, that influences our evaluation of a person’s character. We form an overall first impression of a person largely based on how she/he looks.

You may already have experienced this: When you see a very pretty girl (or a handsome man), you would assume that she is also perfect in many other ways. You could think she is also smart, and would tend to explain away her actual stupidity with ‘careless’, ‘silly’ or even ‘cute’.

After our brain has formed the biased opinion by a person’s looks, it naturally becomes lazy to reconcile the facts with that first impression. It may take a long time for you to realize that your judgment of the person’s character is completely wrong.

It sounds unfair, but having a beautiful face can provide a boost in one’s career. Studies have shown that attractive people usually get employment and promotion more quickly, and are paid higher than their less attractive peers.

However, it is definitely not a guarantee of success.

Success is mostly the result of hard work. Without that, even the most beautiful people can fail miserably.

Using celebrities as an example again: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron wouldn’t stay on top all these years just by looking beautiful. One other thing they share in common is that they are all hardworking.

The same holds true for Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and Jack Ma.