Those interested in cash will grow tired of the funding cycles and move on.
There isn't much of a financial reward in research. You believe you're on the brink of discovering something others have tried and failed to explain.
The funding cycles will also make the people not in it for the money tired, except for the ones that keep winning; it's a rat race regardless of your interest in cash. Most research is not about being "on the brink of discovering something [...]"; that is a romantic idea of research which is exceedingly rare.
Money in the bank is not the end goal for everyone. You can work a job to get paid so that one day you don't have to work anymore. Or, you can work a job that pays sufficiently and you'll happily do until your last days of life.
Lastly, most research is on the brink of discovering something. Whether or not there is a life changing impact (or application whatsoever) as a result of that discovery is another argument all together.