There is more info in the original Wired article. The author responded in comments:

"As for how I was broke while making a great salary working at Sun, it was primarily due to medical bills after a my family had series of emergency room visits, a couple of emergency surgeries, and we spent a year taking care of and financially supporting a mentally ill relative. Sun had also discontinued all bonuses due to the financial climate, which didn't help."

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2009/02/shoot-is-iphone.html#c...