>>12498282Well, not all of them are supposed to be the best anyway, obviously certain individuals like Grothendieck are an exception. Don't get me wrong, fields medalists do important work, but most of the medals are awarded for resolving difficult conjectures, which is ever rarely accomplished by any singular person. The mathematical community develops theoretical framework, fields medalists are usually the first to apply theory to outstanding problems successfully. All fields medalists did great work, but for the majority of them you can't call it visionary, pioneering, fundamental or profound in the same way as other mathematical works.
