The two multimillionaires I know (one sold his company to JPMC, the other, to Google) aren't driven primarily by money. They have a genuine interest in what they do (securitizing carbon offsets, and designing analog circuits, respectively).
They're what you'd call "good guys".
They wouldn't be caught dead in that crazy kickback scheme that was described.
I know this is a small sample set, but what I've come away with is that rich people are like you and me, except they happen to be rich.
Very well-compensated people apparently can get sufficiently unmoored from a moral compass that they 1.) think the rules don't apply to them and 2.) just don't stop to consider that morals/ethics aside what they're doing is a really dumb potentially life-ruining risk.