By law the king was forbidden to indulge in the accumulation of horses, wives and wealth which threatened to impair his piety, judgment and sense of fairness. Moreover, only an Israelite kinsman could occupy the throne because, I suspect, only a native was deemed to command the compassion and responsibility to place national interests above his own. By the third century of the common era, with rabbinic leadership in ascendancy in Roman Palestine, Rabbi Yohanan, who led the academies in Sepphoris and Tiberias for decades, sharpened the qualifications necessary for religious leadership. For the prerequisite of personal wealth, which I find most interesting, Rabbi Yohanan cites the verse in our parashathat Moses never had the need to avail himself of anything that belonged to an Israelite, even for reimbursement. That is, Moses was rich and self-sufficient.
Poverty is a condition that can subvert piety.
The discussion posits a correlation between character and competence. Before we are entitled to exercise control over others, we must attain control over ourselves. Thus, it is the readiness to learn from anyone that marks a wise person, who has transmuted arrogance into open- mindedness. It is contentment with one's portion that defines a rich person in whom greed has been tempered. And, it is the conquest of our passions that denotes true strength.