If you disagree, I would argue you have a very sad view of the world, where truth and cooperation are inferior to lies and manipulation.
"Successful people create companies. More successful people create countries. The most successful people create religions"
This definition of success is founded on power and control. It's one of the worst definitions you could choose.
There are nobler definitions, like "Successful people have many friends and family" or "Successful people are useful to their compatriots"
Sam's published definition (to be clear, he was quoting someone else and then published it) tells you everything you need to know about his priorities.
I don’t get how this follows from the quote you posted?
My interpretation is that successful people create durable, self sustaining institutions that deliver deeply meaningful benefits at scale.
I think that this interpretation is aligned with your nobler definitions. But your view of the purpose of government and religion may be more cynical than mine :)
If you want to create a country- better have a good reason, many noble people have done it, many bad people have done it.
If you want to create a religion- you're psycho (or you really are the chosen one)
Notice how Sam's definition of success increases with the probability of psychopathy.
I think he is making an allusion to Apple's culture.
There's successful companies because their product is good, there's more successful companies because they started early (and it feels like a monopoly: Google, Microsoft), and there's the most successful company that tells you what you are going to buy (Apple's culture).