Why can the public not understand that successful people usually have obtained a level of wealth such that their "getting out of bed in the morning" price is gr

Why can the public not understand that successful people usually have obtained a level of wealth such that their "getting out of bed in the morning" price is greater than most people's monthly earnings? Someone working at McDonald's wouldn't take an extra shift for $0.25/hour. However, someone starving with no other means to support himself would fight for it. Why is it so hard to understand that these incentives scale up?