I'm pretty sure there are several in that list that would qualify in your ideal of successful.
To what extent I'm unsure. Asking a developer how much he made is liable to get no response.
I think the real answer to your question is that if income is your first priority, then perhaps game dev is not for you.
It can take years to learn to code, and more years to hit upon a successful combination of game mechanics, graphics, sound, fx, music, marketing....