[jsaxton86]

> in 1984 he was making in excess of $125,000 a year

According to [1], that works out to ~$285,000/year in 2015 dollars.

[1] http://www.davemanuel.com/inflation-calculator.php

[jmckib]

How does an accountant make that kind of money?

[waterlesscloud]

I have a relative who make more than that as an accountant. He does forensic accounting, essentially auditing financial records in corporate lawsuits. Reconstructing where money did or did not go. Testifies at trials as an expert witness and so on.