[barrkel]

This has not been my experience. I can easily see ways to substantially increase my quality of life at $1 million per year, and at $10 million per year, neither of which I'm close to (unless my lottery tickets, I mean options, pay off).

[Scene_Cast2]

Ignoring early retirement, consider that those salaries come with less free time, less brain cells to do what you like, and more stress.

A lot of the value you can gain from money (e.g. hiring a maid to clean & cook, buying better quality food) is about clawing back what you lost to get the extra money.