Here is the crux of the problem, and it could be true using almost any amount. Yes, it is pathetic.
They have developed a style of living that they cannot support on an income appreciably less than the $285,000 he used to earn.
If you own a 120 ft yacht with a fulltime crew of 20 you probably couldn't "make it" with $10mm in assets.
I've mentioned in other threads that this phenomenon has been fully explored in the literature, most notably in "Bonfire of the Vanities" where poor Master of the Universe Sherman McCoy couldn't make ends meet on a mere $765,000 per year.