Hi Anonymous,
You are somewhat implying that a CEO position is something worthwile .. that might be true for some people, but when being on common business trips with C-level execs you start to understand their life better in a lot of informal conversations along the way, and at the end they are also just living from paycheck to paycheck (big one, but still).
So many people chose from their side different exit opportunities - it needs to match more areas of life (thinking about personal preferences, family topics, a grain of luck, .....).
Whatever the exit opportunity is, it needs to be the right one for yourself, and not what is considered as successful from public perception.
Hope this helps - if so, please be so kind and give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!
Robert