That may be true in SV or something like that, but I am guessing in Alabama, for someone making $15-$20 an hour six figures seems like quite a bit. Heck I'd consider myself upper middle class and I make low six figures.
I think it's easy to forget just how uneven things have become since the middle of the previous century: someone making more money than 95 out of every 100 Alabama residents is doing quite well compared to most of the people in the state and is still nowhere near CEO-level compensation.
No question that it's better but it's going from average to “highest income person you know who isn't your doctor” rather than executive class income.