You know that is a good question,

Did Wind_fury actually make a ton on money?
1. If he never sold any , then he has not locked in a Profit, so in truth has lost or gained nothing yet.
Paper Gains are not Guarantee Gains.

Bitcoin is a manipulated Ponzi scheme, floated to insane prices verses fiat by tether fraudulent fractional reserve scam.
So bitcoin will always achieve faster & higher rises in price, than an actual useful materials such as gold or silver.

However , one should also question which price can crash the lowest, bitcoin or gold?
Bitcoin , can crash to a price that makes mining unprofitable, and the network stops, and no transactions occur, essentially becoming worthless due to the fact bitcoin can't transfer between addresses, while gold always has industrial uses to offset supply, in addition , Gold mining could stop, but it would not prevent you from selling or buying gold already mined.

As far as Wind_fury being rich, let's say on his btctalk  Date Registered: May 21, 2016
Price of BTC was ~$7000 per coin.

Let's say he purchased US $2000 worth, for a total of 0.28571428 satoshis
* Note, I am being generous, because Wind_Fury has always complained about the cost of even running a modern PC as a node.*
So he hodl til today Feb 19,2021 , and 0.28571428 is worth ~7.8 times at $15600 U$D, so if he actually cashed out he earned $13600 in profit.  That is a nice amount , but not a life changer and it took 5 years.
But here is what happens, he won't sell , he hodl and never profit.
The thing you need to realize is bitcoin is a game of musical chairs and for 3 to 6 months , it makes sweet sweet music, and then you are stuck with 3 to 6 years of silence before the next round.
* When the Tether scam falls, it may take bitcoin with it. *