I was more on the programming side of things at the time, but when I found out the difference between what I was paid and how my hours were billed to clients (also around 20x), I had the same sort of reaction. Since I was just barely starting college at the time (so no degree, but had the skills), I really think this was mostly just a function of the labor market around that area. I had younger/taller/thicker/balder/older co-workers who were similarly 'discriminated' with respect to their salaries as they were starting out there.
The high multiple probably had a lot to do with the type of clients this company was able to land. If I remember correctly, they charged something like 10x market rate for managed hosting, and clients happily paid because of the nature of the product.
Also, I'd say the unique thing about you that made (makes) you really stand out is not just the pixels, it's the glorious combination of both pixels and bits [1].