> [...] Many of the most brilliant human beings of that era worked for very modest salaries, and seemed content to do so. I wonder why it is that nowadays the "smartest" people tend to work in tech or finance and mostly pursue wealth. A few possibilities:

This is something in essence that some of us at MIT get told by faculty upon telling them that we want to go into industry. Behind it, though, there is often a fair bit of arrogance: many of them can not truthfully say that they would not do the same if they had to accept an academic position at a "tier 2" place, long postdoc, etc.

That said, the spirit of the point is perfectly fine. My own personal answer is that I have no personal issue with the compensation in academia; the associated "bureaucracy" which is far more severe today (paper/citation counts, and other things of even less significance) turns me away. It remains to be seen for myself how "industrial bureaucracy" compares with it. However, everyone I know has told me that in terms of personal happiness/fulfillment, people who leave are usually much better off.

I mention this as I had a conversation where someone essentially assumed point 1 or 2 rather than the distinct reason above.