The Quran

Preface

قالَ إِنَّما أوتيتُهُ عَلىٰ عِلمٍ عِندي ۚ أَوَلَم يَعلَم أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَد أَهلَكَ مِن قَبلِهِ مِنَ القُرونِ مَن هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنهُ قُوَّةً وَأَكثَرُ جَمعًا ۚ وَلا يُسأَلُ عَن ذُنوبِهِمُ المُجرِمونَ

Yusuf Ali

He said: “This has been given to me because of a certain knowledge which I have.”¹ Did he not know that God had destroyed, before him, (whole) generations,- which were superior to him in strength and greater in the amount (of riches) they had collected? but the wicked are not called (immediately) to account² for their sins.

He was so blind and arrogant that he thought that his own merit, knowledge, and skill or cleverness had earned him his wealth, and that now, on account of it, he was superior to everybody else and was entitled to ride rough-shod over them. Fool!-he was soon pulled up by God.
Even Qarun was given a long run of enjoyment with his fabulous wealth before he had to be removed for the mischief he was doing.