I don't know... most of those places that pay a low salary in the name of 'culture' are startups, and most of those don't ever make any money... so there isn't really anyone laughing all the way to the bank.
Replace "culture" with some other buzzword or phrase, e.g. "work on hard problems," "intellectually challenging/stimulating," "positive work/life balance," "work on important problems," "be disruptive," etc.
This sort of "anything but financial compensation" compensation is ubiquitous in this industry.
This sort of "anything but financial compensation" compensation is ubiquitous in this industry.