Regarding masters of any field
I've come to a thought regarding the masters of any field.
The reason they are so few and far between is because they would not survive in "cave man times". That is to say, obsession with a small domain, and even more likely a small subdomain is what would often get you killed in the past as you neglected everything else and would get eaten by a bear or something.
As a result... you have to be insane and dysgenic in order to be a master of any field. Insane and dysgenic tends not to reproduce, however masters tend to acquire lots of resources, which after, tends to reproduce
As a result, only the insane and dysgenic and obsessed who succeed become the "new money", and in their money, reproduction happens, and in their insanity and obsession... their children are rarely well off.
It's worth noting this regards masters of a field- this is not to be confused with experts of a field who are usually quite sane. The difference can be chalked up as the difference between James Joyce and George R.R. Martin- where one is an expert and one is quite insane. Or more relevantly and recently, the difference between Stephen King(well regarded as insane) and George R.R. Martin.
Of course, this insanity is within uncomfortable boundaries... and when it is shattered... they're usually pushed too far into the extremes and breakdown. It is rare that they can pull back, because obsession is the idea that possesses men to its very ideal extreme.