I say we are all equal in life. Theres economic status and positions of authority that make us feel otherwise throughout life. It is up to you to know within yourself that you are equal to anyone "above" you, the same way with anyone "below". This is definitely a work in progress. Hopefully equality is realized without unnecessary competition. Things are equalled out with death, but consider the wheight of consciousness. The warrior may be more burdened in death than the young child, who is still relatively innocent and pure.
My own personal opinion would be that everybody is equal in death, except for the baby. In this, I mean that everybody is accountable in death for their actions in life, all except the baby who is not accountable as no sin has been committed by the baby in its short life.
Everybody is born naked, whether we go on to be a King, a Warrior, a Mother, a Father, or a beggar,for me personally, I couldn't care less whether a person accumulates millions in his/her lifetime, it is of no consequence, as you 'can't take it with you'.These things are just of this world, and it is how you conduct yourself in this life that matters, not what you have earned in this world.
Just my opinion though
Of course, being as I am, I believe that we just go to the dust. So all are equal in death. Even in the Bible that I grew up with, it says that God is no respecter of persons. Death is the one thing that none of us can avoid no matter how rich or powerful one is. Death brings equality, in my opinion.
Is it that death makes us equal or men make themselves unequal when they're living? A king is not a king if he has no subjects. The subjects have to give up their freedom in order to have a king. We are born equal as far as I know and then as we grow others try to make us unequal. We seem to be just like the animals, where only the strong survive except in our case it is only the more powerful (usually economically) decide the inequality among men.