Here's the thing, being a witness can be profitable, and should be for enough witnesses to keep Steem running stable, but there is never a guarantee it will be.

Your "oligarchy" chart confuses me because it is missing quite a few people that should be on there. Not sure how the numbers were calculated though.

Btw, your buddy Jerry has been a witness for just a couple months maybe and is ranked #29. His compensation for such is about $80-90/day for letting a server essentially sit doing its job. The server cost run no more than $50/month for a Steem witness right now.

He is also one of the highest paid authors on the site. Again, after being here just a short while.

Some people contribute more their time and money with things like marketing or open source code. Bug fixes and testing for new features. Etc etc...

You need to make your witness known, campaign for votes, and most importantly, have something to offer the community. It doesn't come easy.

I was ranked #40 but I lost a few places. Shit happens. But even at my current rank, #49, I make around $40-55/day.

Keep at it and just chill, bill ;)