This is exactly it. Chasing high salaries for many of us isn't about buying more expensive things. It's about obtaining freedom in your life as early as possible. Add in a family, and the only way to do it in your mid 40s when your body is still capable of doing anything, is to make numbers like what you mentioned.

A common retort is "stop working for FAANGs, then maybe you won't be in such a rush to get out". I completely disagree. I don't care who I'm working for, even if it's myself, it's the fact that my time is controlled by some outside force that I'm trying to escape.