Did you pay for your equipment?

I've come to notice after shooting a lot more publicized events that, besides traveling photojournalists, everyone I ask says they have bought their equipment. I'm talking like 2 Canon Mark D cameras with L series lenses on it n' shit. I'm sorry but, I'm just a college student and I had to spend much of my savings account just to have a basic set of 1 camera, 1 wide angle lens, and 1 50mm 1.4 lens.

So photojournalists, do you work for a publication/news source and if so, did you pay for all your equipment?????