[kwhitefoot]

What Leonardo needed was staff. He needed to run a research institute and offload the implementation to people who were less easily distracted.

[mo_42]

Yes! During his lifetime, he was mainly seen as an artist. He probably earned well but still magnitudes lower than what he would have needed to get something done. Just imagine if there would have been something like venture capitalists.

I guess in terms of the big five, he was super-high in openness but no so high in conscientiousness. In today's world he would fit better because he could run an institute or a company.