Prostitutes (sexual or political or journalistic) can charge anything they want. The main "trick" (pun intended) for the sex worker is finding enough of those buyers (and at those prices, 1 can often be enough) who have deluded themselves into thinking the experience is any better or safer (from disease or extortion) than the usual $200 escorts, simply because of the asking price.
I hear ya - my wife is obsessed with designer handbags for some reason. When she told me what she wanted for birthday/christmas gift (combined) this past year - a Gucci bag - I couldn’t believe it was $1250 + tax for a SMALL one! Even though I’m the corp exec in the family, I still prefer my clothes from Costco and the like.