IMO, This is one of those events that is fair for all the players.
Unlike the event "Wheels of Fortune", which was basically for the gold abusers, who were all able to build nukes at ease only because of how deep their pocket ran, This event demands more activity from the players. The more active you are, the better and more rewards you are gonna get.
Eventhough the Top 3 spots is as always going to be filled by "Who paid the most" players, The most active ones are sure to get good rewards after the 40th Box considering that the additional rewards are worth the effort.
For those complaining about the event, You can abuse your gold in cutting the mission time by half, recruiting more volunteers, advancing onwards to more boxes without the timer and get as many boxes as you wish. What else do you want?