I can only speak for myself, but as an employee of "big tech" from 2016-2021, my own personal inflation resulted from the massive pay those companies offered. My startup was acquired in 2016. Net result of my 1% of stock was $0, but the comp package at the new company, while below average for that role, still represented a 130% pay increase. Over the next two years, stock appreciation alone added another 30% on top of that. Moving to a FAANG ended up being a lateral move, but that companies stock doubled.

The net result was that between 2016 and 2021, my compensation increased a whopping 460%. I know I'm far from alone in that as well. If anyone was ballin', it was (IMHO) far more related to the bull market than anything else.