(Question) Are the Steemit earnings actually real?

I really need an answer from the community on this that's why I decided to not to put images or fancy layouts on this post.

If I see someone earning 100-500 dollars from one post is that actually real or just pushed by bots?
I recently saw Steemians with over 70 reputation making mere pennies from a post and I am asking myself if every single post I see making lots of money is actually just bought upvotes. And does it even matter to climb the reputation rank if there are still people with 70+ making around 1 dollar per post? Is there even earning potential with Steemit or is it just a zero sum game?

I would be very, very grateful for any insights from the community as I'm really getting kind of an 'existential crisis' so to say.

Thank you all!