the top of the ladder	the highest position in one's profession
down-and-out	person with no job or home
live rough	live under unpleasant conditions
as poor as a church mouse	very poor
from rags to riches	from being very poor to being very rich
up-and-coming	likely to become successful
right hand man	close and trusted assistant
call the shots	make the important decisions
the jest set	group of rich and fashinable people
the slippery slope	sth that is difficult to stop and which usually ends badly
have (got) several irons in the fire	have a several options/projects at the same time
at full stretch	using all one's energy to do sth
a dead end	sth which leads nowhere and has no future
adopt a low profile	to avoid public attention
take a back seat	take position of lower importance
the rat race	the struggle for success
the big guns	important and poweful people
have time on one's hands	have spare time
do one's own thing	do whatever one wants
keep up with the Joneses	be in a competition with other people to achieve sth