Rabbi Yossi Ben Pazi started studying Torah as a method of attaining wealth. Overtime purified by the Torah he studied, Rabbi Yossi Ben Pazi regretted the notion and repenting, becoming a scholar in the school of the Zohar. His story is mentioned in the Zohar Parshas Lech Lecha.

Torah for Wealth

Rabbi Abba went around announcing in various Bati Medrashim that whoever wanted wealth and a lengthy life should come study Torah.