Well, Half a million notes per second would probably be enough though... Just kidding.
nice blog by the way.
Some other names : Malmsteen, Carlton, Di Meola, Scofield, Rypdal, Pass, Kessel, ....
They have made it but, possible for a newcomer now ? To make a living on it would be quite a challenge I would say, even more now than ever. These guys all live on their almost daily live performances now. To make money on CD sales is more and more "past history".