Ego and hubris are not dissuaded by consequences.
I think this is where your logic breaks down. Many billionaires exist due to no more intelligence and ambition than the average person but to have the luck of being born in the right place and time. Many billionaires (Buffett and Gates to name two off the top of my head) have admitted that luck was the primary reason they are multi-billionaires rather than millionaires or lower.