Lots of people lie multiple times without their lies being exposed. Sometimes because they are good at lying, sometimes because they are good at picking targets that are bad at detecting lies, sometimes because they are lucky, sometimes because they have accomplices protecting the lies, sometimes a combination of multiple of those factors.
> There is a lot more to be earned in the long term by staying honest.
In the long term, we are all dead; all differences in material outcomes are short term; and while it would be nice if optimally moral behavior (including honesty) were also the optimal behavior for personal benefit, that’s not usually the case, and the myth that it is, among other adverse consequences, reinforces the cognitive bias where people give additional credence to the successful by associating success with trustworthiness.
