"Being an awesome excellent business guy does mean success in a measurable way." You are committing the logical fallacy of converse accident, essentially sayin

"Being an awesome excellent business guy does mean success in a measurable way." You are committing the logical fallacy of converse accident, essentially saying: "All awesome excellent business guys I have heard of is are successful financially, therefore it is true that all excellent business guys are successful." Survivor bias comes into play here too -- you don't get to hear stories of those with the exact same set of skills and personality as other 'business greats' who went bankrupt. "Maybe some recognition from peers, but certainly not in monetary terms." You can measure success in ways other than money. A programmer can count the number of users who have benefitted from using their code. A violinist can count number of standing ovations at concerts. An athlete can count number of medals/trophies. A parent can count number of successful children content with life. Not everyone defines their success in terms of their net worth.