I do believe that the figures above are misrepresentations. Many western expats I know would be lucky to earn half the lower figure quoted in the text above per year.

2 points:
House prices in Qatar are some of the highest in the region.
School fees (vary for different nationalities).

Pay is also based on Gender as much as it is nationality, and discrimination is unfortunately rife in these states.

Whilst I cannot fully disagree with the sentiment, I feel there is an unbalanced 'tale' in the above text which would require further investigation to begin to understand the full situation facing these countries and employees.