It is interesting to note how men relate to each other. We don't allow another man to have a position of superiority unless we identify him as an alpha-male who we can trust to lead and accomplish what we want (and also we prefer if he appears to be humble so that our attention isn't focused on his superiority in a particular field or if we can pigeonhole his superiority to one field and maintain in our own ego that he is not superior in all fields).
(about beta-males versus alpha-males in competition for women which determines evolutionary impact)
In movies like "Margin Call", which is a pretty accurate representation of our civilization, the smartest people tend to be involved in creating Rube Goldberg financial products to siphon wealth from the majority.
Because that is the easiest way to become filthy rich. And
little people with big egos feel that money is their most important achievement.
Some few of us realize that most significant accomplishments require extensive sacrifice and hard work over a long period of time. But if it is a labor of love, then it fit those of us who want a more difficult challenge. Genghis Kahn would be a prime example, and I've read some statistic that something on the order-of-magnitude of 1 in every 5 people have his genetic code because he fathered so many children. The hard work was the wars he waged to unify Mongolia and advance the economy of his people by doing so.
Edit: I am not referring to Vitalik in either case above. He is smart math geek who got in over his head and is more like a kid in a candy store and fantasizing about technology but doesn't have enough experience yet to see the pitfalls in advance.