Employers offer massive salaries when they can't find anyone cheaper. Just like people pay more for desirable beach front or mountain view property. Not only does it have to be desirable, but it has to be in relatively limited supply, such that the seller has options and so the buyer has to compete to win the seller, and obviously payer has to be able to pay.
Edit: If you continue down the road of reasoning, the desirability of an employee is related to how much net income the employee contributes to. The employer is betting that the work a specific programmer does will be integral to yielding billions in profit, so a few hundred thousand is a no brainer.
In contrast, a hotel on a desirable piece of land does not need to offer housekeepers massive salaries even though the work the housekeepers do is integral to the hotel's profits, because the housekeepers individually are more replaceable than a programmer.
Edit #2:
Note that doctors get paid more in rural, low cost of living areas than in high cost of living areas.
Edit: If you continue down the road of reasoning, the desirability of an employee is related to how much net income the employee contributes to. The employer is betting that the work a specific programmer does will be integral to yielding billions in profit, so a few hundred thousand is a no brainer.
In contrast, a hotel on a desirable piece of land does not need to offer housekeepers massive salaries even though the work the housekeepers do is integral to the hotel's profits, because the housekeepers individually are more replaceable than a programmer.
Edit #2:
Note that doctors get paid more in rural, low cost of living areas than in high cost of living areas.