In my mind a "superstar programmer" solves a problem that millions of people have and takes his company to "the moon"© . As other people say, you would have to

In my mind a "superstar programmer" solves a problem that millions of people have and takes his company to "the moon"© . As other people say, you would have to define what "superstar programmer" means to you. A popular framework creator? A scientist? A fellow engineer at FAANG, like Guido, or James Gosling? A famous entrepreneur? etc... To answer your question with my own idea of a superstar, a great programmer would be smart enough to work on his own terms, on things he wants to work on, and make money (possibly a ton) while doing it.