If ROI is more interesting then why not a comparison with what the ROI of other individuals might have been had they had a starting investment?

Also, why should ROI be most interesting? Is money all we care about? Why is it that we have money?

> why not a comparison with what the ROI of other individuals might have been

You're talking about a "what if" as opposed to concrete numbers we do a simple comparison of.

> Is money all we care about?

No, but in the context of the article, it is the metric.

The point is to challenge the premise that their success was only a product of their starting investment.