Because you wouldn't be earning $300k+/y if you headed straight to the beach?

You have to do it for many many years to build the amount of wealth you'd need to live a life of idle luxury

would still take 10 years to get enough money to maintain a beach lifestyle. Then, you have the boredom.

There's a decent chance you're above the 70th percentile in the US, and the top 99th percentile globally. You can already afford to go live on the beach, why haven't you done it yet?

Some comments here mentioned that it's more like $180k base salary plus around $130k in options. Depending on where you're living, you'd still need to pay for living expenses (rent, insurance, food, etc.) before amassing a good chunk of change for retirement. So, it's possible that those making that amount of money are putting a good amount away while they work to live that life of luxury where the dollar goes further.

It's also very likely that people pulling $300k/year really like the work.

A lot of them do, eventually. Most of these positions are high pressure with a lot of hours. A lot of these people leave this kind of work after 5-10 years and do something more rewarding and less stressful. A guy I know used to be an investment banker but now runs a tea farm on Vancouver Island. There's a lot of those type of people about.

If you've never experienced burnout: it's not pretty, and can easily destroy your mental and physical health. At the first hints of burnout, you should get the fuck out!

...for a few years until the money runs out and your skills have atrophied.

From what I've noticed, there are 2 answers:

1. The smaller group: People who do retire quietly. You don't hear about them.

2. The larger group: People who are capable of earning that salary are the type who can't just sit at the beach. Much as youth is wasted on the young, wealth is often wasted on the wealthy.

> Why not head straight to the beach and live a wonderful life of idle luxury?

This might sound nice to many, but for it might be preferable to work on something meaningful as well.

work @ $300K pre tax for a year == a life of luxury?

You from a 3rd world country?

Lifestyle inflation, especially if you don't like your job and sometimes spend as a compensation. Many/most making higher incomes have large debts and little savings.

Because there is more to life than "happiness"

Not everyone is depressed or parasitic by nature