You seem to define success as depending heavily on money. I think I would (personally) be happier as a physician, working for myself, than as a businessperson in charge of an organ-transplant business unit.
To me, success doesn't just depend on money. Happiness counts too, and one component of happiness is doing something that one enjoys-- and for me, at least, there's a big component of that that depends on exerting mastery. In any event there are a lot of people who make conscious choices to make less money because they will be happier that way.
Some people love working for themselves instead of having a boss, for instance. Building a practice, for a solo practitioner professional, often takes some time. I wouldn't call your # 1 example unsuccessful or less successful because of that. Perhaps if he had set his sights on becoming another schmoozing business guy, he would have done even better than # 2.
I also think that we could cherry-pick plenty of examples to support the idea that high intelligence is not necessary for success. Examples abound in the sports world. That doesn't mean that high intelligence is not generally an advantage in thinking about any definition of success.
Of course, high IQ people can fail like anyone else (well, maybe more spectacularly). I would never expect someone to be successful based on their IQ, even if they weren't known to have any mental or other problems.
