I can say with certainty that some trial lawyers who have a spotless record for a client get fired the first time they lose one and that some corporate lawyers who have a spotless record with a client get fired the first time a deal doesn't go the way a client wished for.
I would bet that's true in any consulting-type business--frankly, it's true for any vendor.
And few people make what these guys make. Very few.
And still I wouldn't trade with any of them. There's just a heck of a lot more to life than money. And for all their money, Bret and Gary both had spouses who didn't want to be in Madison, and other issues that on a day-to-day basis all that money wouldn't fix.
I'd take the money if it was offered, but wouldn't take the life. Which isn't to say that some (many?) of them probably love what they do. There's a lot of diversity in the human gene pool.