>> The same thing plays out with less experienced middle managers who get thrust into high-budget positions at smaller companies.

Thanks for the spot-on description. You are right, the more money involved, the sleazier it gets. It reminds me of the book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18905630-hedgehogging

A highly successful hedge fund with a highly successful group got one of these senior managers and they managed to spends hundreds of millions on crazy ideas (not my money syndrome) while the people who actually built the machine originally were sidelined.