[ectoplasm]

Yes, I agree, if you're optimizing for "success" you should optimize for "net worth", since for a lot of people those terms mean the same thing, no argument that this is the mainstream interpretation.

Personally I believe that as far as financial success is concerned, how well you handle transactions is just as important as net worth (so it's best to have a lot of money and handle it really well), but that's impossible to quantify of course.