And importantly, in this analogy - most people here aren't even able to play that lottery. He founded a company based on the research he did whilst studying for a government funded PhD. Most people are not in a position in their life where they could even spend time trying to do research that would result in this type of eventual wealth.

This is one of the easiest paths to gain a competitive advantage that can be monetized. You are much less likely to fall into a pool of money.

Just like becoming a MD has much better odds at getting you some amount of money than dropping out of school. About the same path by the way.

But you can keep playing the lottery if you think it has better odds or even the same odds...