That number is entirely dependent on their leverage.

It works like this. If I could hire bob for $10, but he produces $100 worth of value, hell yes I'm going to hire Bob. But Evil Corp sees that and thinks "damn, I want Bob to contribute $100 to my bottom line, so I'll hire him away from Bright Corp by enticing him with $20 pay.

Then, BadAss Corp thinks the same thing, and hires Bob away for $30. This process repeats until Bob's pay + opportunity cost == $100.

However, there is a point of diminishing value being added. If lots of Bobs are available, the incremental value (leverage) each one adds becomes less. There are only so many redesigns of one's database that improve productivity much.

As you can see, the more Bobs, the less they'll get paid. Until Frank comes along with a new idea for adding value, and starts the process over again.

Consider also that although an engineer has the potential to engineer large amounts of value, that doesn't mean he will. Hence, the value of him to the company is discounted by the risk that he won't deliver.

I.e. an engineer who has a track record of delivering value can command a much higher salary. I know one who got a million dollar salary.

This is also why CEOs get paid so much. Leverage. Nadella is a prime example. As an MSFT shareholder, I'd say he was darn well worth it.

> This process repeats until Bob's pay + opportunity cost == $100.

I usually find that this typically stops at something like $10 for most people. Despite people being “valuable for millions” offers for that much don’t magically seem to spring up. The people I know making a million a year typically make the company tens of millions…