I actually wonder how many people might be employed by FAANG companies on high salaries just to deny their competitor from getting access to that person's skill

I actually wonder how many people might be employed by FAANG companies on high salaries just to deny their competitor from getting access to that person's skills. If I am Google, it is in my best interest to hire as many skilled people in AI for example to deny Facebook from accessing those skills. But yes, I can see what you are saying that employers drive the demand which puts the value on developers. Kind of like my wife and multiple other people in the world putting a price on a LV handbag, without the demand the LV is probably not worth more than a few hundred dollars.