The real story here is capital in the form of private equity. Engineering is a commodity, it can be bought, there are tons of great engineers in the world. Getting access to capital to take these big bets requires some serious clout, influence, and connections that the average joe doesn't have. Check out the background of ANY private equity firm, it's full of very wealthy people from Ivy League schools (Skull & Bones anyone?).
These guys create a firm, pitch their friends to get a seed fund off the ground and then start fundraising from larger institutions. They then hire some real talent and they are off to the races. Not everyone makes it, but the ones who do are featured as geniuses on Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal. Survivorship bias for sure. Most Hedge Funds and Private Equity firms don't do well, similar to any start-up.
These guys create a firm, pitch their friends to get a seed fund off the ground and then start fundraising from larger institutions. They then hire some real talent and they are off to the races. Not everyone makes it, but the ones who do are featured as geniuses on Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal. Survivorship bias for sure. Most Hedge Funds and Private Equity firms don't do well, similar to any start-up.