I actually don't believe that, but I find it very dubious that you can simply reverse-engineer someone else's career path.

Of course you can reverse the career at a high level. But it doesn't mean someone else would have the same outcomes - even if following the same steps. Every person's life is filled with a unique, dynamic range of possibilities, opportunities, hardships, challenges, obstacles. Some "success" (however defined), can be much easier for some - and much more difficult for others. Those for which it is difficult can either have the patience, fortitude, vision, cognitive ability to make weighted probability deicision, and tenacity to get there, or not - sometimes sacrificing for years or decades.

Someone without "wealth" may easily form friendships, have a great family, and fulfillment there. A "wealthy" person may be great at creating wealth, but poor at creating fulfillment.