If somebody pours the foundation, somebody else frames the walls, a bunch of other people hang the drywall and run the wires and hook up the plumbing, and then I come along and lay the carpet, I'm obviously an idiot if I try to take credit for the entire house. But I certainly deserve to be paid for laying the carpet. How much work was done on the house before I got there has nothing to do with whether or not I, in my turn, spent my time and knowledge and effort to make something that was valuable too.

Incidentally, did you really mean to say that you spent your life around the smartest person in the world? If so, well, I'm skeptical but also curious who you think the smartest person in the world is.