It’s not really though. Plenty of classical civilisations saw wealth chasing and work something to be looked down on

Exactly zero civilizations large enough to deserve the name had exactly one ideology

In the old age, having money only without power to protect it was asking for trouble.

Is that why those civilizations ultimately collapsed?

Yes that's true, many classical civilizations saw work as a role for slaves. The ideal for classical elites wasn't to work, it was to have enough slaves that you didn't have to work yourself.

Aristotle in particular writes about this in his defense for the institution of slavery.