Steve Hsu pointed me to this article The Quintessential Quant. The article highlights the standard, IIT, MIT, etc && physics, math, etc. need only apply. On the fly C++ under pressure, etc. But here is the money shot:

A typical offer, say sources, starts with a base salary of around $250,000, plus a guaranteed annual bonus that could double that. The best can command a cut of a fund's upside -- beaucoup bucks when you consider the multibillion-dollar asset pots. All this, yet, says Seanor, "most of these guys have never even had a real job."

Is it me, or does $250,000 K as a baseline salary seem a little low for the best of the best. The thing is, I have friends who spent 4 years memorizing junk in medical school and ground their way through a residency, and they are within spitting distance of that sort of salary. Granted, there's a lot more on top of that...but normalizing for how smart these guys are, on the scale of remuneration it seems they're getting jacked. Why don't they just start a business and get asset rich real quick?