They're very intelligent people who do very clever things at a young age, which draws the attention of very rich people who can exploit them to get richer, and no one tells the young person they're being exploited. They're heaped with praise and 'wealth' (millions, but crumbs compared to what they're making for other people), and told they're geniuses who can do no wrong, mostly by the media that happens to be owned by the rich.

Then the rich people pull the rug leaving them holding the bag, and they move on to the next young clever group.

And the cycle continues.