Feel like I can shed a bit of light on the conversation here having known a few Surgeons since I was a kid and worked with them for the better part of 10 yrs.
One thing I can tell you is that yes all of them make good money and none of them( that I know of) live simply off their salary. You have to understand that these people have money to invest. Im sure you have heard the term it takes money to make money. They are always looking for angles. Medical companies sell them stock, they buy real estate, they hire people to invest in the stock market, they invest in medical facilities like MRI offices and even entire hospitals are sometimes Doctor owned.
One individual I wont name names, has been a very highly regarded Orthopedic Surgeon in OKC for the better part of 20 plus years. (He did my rotator cuff surgery when I was in high school.) He and my old man are good friends. So not only has he collected a giant salary for 2 decades but he has invested his money in golf courses, hospitals, hotels, medical companies and he owns real estate at exotic locations.
I dont know what he is worth. But I can tell you he has a full fledged 18 hole golf course in his back yard. A family lives on his property only to maintain it. He has six golf carts and his own golf balls. When you go for a swim the 18th pin is right next to the pool. The pool is half outdoor half indoor. His house is simply incredible.
As far as Vegas is concerned The Golden Nugget flies him and his buddies (my father is one of the buddies) to their hotel by private jet during Super Bowl weekend every year. They are treated and fed like kings. Dad has never asked what his credit line is but his guess is somewhere close to a million.
So you see its not that a doc makes 700k a year. Its that he makes 700k a year for 20yrs and can afford to invest and basically grow a tiny empire if they do it right.
Hope that helps
