If the story is true, what he does is not entirely wrong, maybe then he gets inner satisfaction, where each person must have different desires and dreams
Typically, it works the other way around
After the easy money is gone, people come to understanding that they have been not just wasting that money ("easy come, easy go"), which is not actually the worst thing when you think over it, but rather wasting their entire lives (well, some part thereof). If it didn't last for long (say, only a couple of years), it may be not a big deal after all, but if it lasted the best years of your life, this is pretty much it. But then it's too late to cry