honestly wealth at any level requires luck… intelligence barely factors into it. it’s less that 1 fuck up and it’s all over, and more that 1 fuck up without someone to cover it up or bail you out and it’s all over… the wealthier you are, the bigger the fuck up before you or someone else can bail you out:

poor? it’s an unexpected car issue

rich? it’s that you fucked over literally an entire country for years on end in a very public way that gained you very little