Likely it's a compensation mechanism to protect the ego. I've been both rich and poor, and while extreme wealth is also unnatural, there is little that poverty has to recommend it.
I don't think it's a compensation mechanism. For some maybe.
But a lot of people had tons of money and got rid of them to be poor(er) and win some kind of freedom or normalcy that was important for them. Some did it directly, some did it through drugs, alcohol and extreme spending that showed that they didn't value the money at all.
I know a couple of people from rich families that ended up as austere monks, living in a monastery in my country. And people like Witgenstein (huge fortune, left it behind), Burroughs (of the "adding machine" family), etc.
Sorry, but wealthy people choosing to live austerely for spiritual reasons is not the same thing as poverty. Poverty is spending every waking hour worrying about money for rent and food, having no access to a doctor when you're sick, etc. There is nothing virtuous or meaningful about it, and it's certainly not something to be proud of.
