He made a ton of money off of the first two apps. Enough to pay for his families housing and the education of himself and his sister. But I agree, the app market isn't too reliable for making money. I see much more opportunity for building your resume using the app market instead

From what I could tell, he made most of his money on an app that was using a trademarked name from a video game, I'm surprised no one went after him for that.

"much money" and "decent money" are very different things, potentially. If he's helping pay his parents mortgage, he's making "much money".

I read that to mean his previous Club Penguin apps did that.

He just gained experience programming apps. Give him time and he'll be better at monetization. 300k impressions a day should yeild over a 6-figure yearly salary.