I don't understand how a person can look at the 1.7M pricetag for a medallion and think they can survive against all the shady, entrenched middlemen and bankers

I don't understand how a person can look at the 1.7M pricetag for a medallion and think they can survive against all the shady, entrenched middlemen and bankers? These characters are straight out of the Wolf of Wall Street.