For me, a person who has more than 10000 steem power and reputation more than 60 is a whale, because you have more influence when you upvote or flag a person than fichies do.
Also the thing that I noticed in steemit is that people that joined the last year earn much more than new people do.
That's true, the more you have the greater the influence.
I think the only reason the people who joined a year ago sometimes earn more is because if they are still here after a year they have built up a following and are putting out decent posts for all that time.
However I could show you a few who have been here for ages and earn little, by contrast I could also show you some newcomers who do very well!