Hard disagree from me, it very much depends on what you value in life. While I have a lot of respect for people with that kind of technical ability and would no doubt be a better programmer for working with people like that, I find large corporate environments absolutely soul-crushing to the point I'd dread getting up in the morning and life is far too short to spend that much of it dreading something. I can't think of anything that would drive me to alcoholism and depression with more efficiency than working for a company like Apple, I'm simply not wired for the modern equivalent of the Calvinist work ethic such a job demands. I wouldn't dream of telling anybody else how to live their life but for me personally I'd infinitely rather live on the coast in rural Wales building straightforward backend stuff for the odd company than live in California and work for Apple! Some might accuse me of being unambitious, but it's more that my ambitions lie in areas other than what I'm paid for.
I love programming don't get me wrong, but I value my sanity and not hating myself even more than I value being a good programmer. If you look at something like Maslow's hierarchy of needs a job at a prestigious company might come near the top for some people, but it could well be the complete opposite for others. For some it's a vital plank of their identity, for others its simply paying the bills. Once you're making enough to fulfil your basic need to put bread on the table and a roof over your head then I don't think it's privileged to be choosy about what you want in a job.