We're not talking about the corner boys - I've read Freakonomics too, I know they are earning next to nothing. We're talking about someone running a large scale distribution operation supplying a huge metropolitan region in the US with goods that are in short supply and high demand.
I guess I thought that the guys at the top would be earning more. It's a lot of money, but it's not private jets and weekends in Aspen kind of money.
Just because he's serving a large segment of the coast, doesn't mean it's exclusive. I've known of people serving larger numbers than mentioned in the article, but they're one of 100s in the city. On any given weekend in London huge numbers of drugs are purchased and consumed. A single supplier is a small part of that.
To be fair, the article mentioned that he uses his government relationships to limit his growth to a safe size. He seems to be actively limiting his upside to protect his downside, which in a high-risk, illegal industry, is probably the logical move to make.
Of course it's not a lot. The corner boys are earning less than McDonald's burger flippers.
But you comment makes it sounds as if a dealer one day can say "screw it, I will be a quant". It's not a lot but it's the best he can get.