I know there have been, however I believe the majority of those authors live in countries where the cost of living is lower than countries like the US, Canada, Australia, the UK etc.
The problem with Episode payments is that it’s so unreliable. You might make enough to live for a few months, but there’s no consistency or guarantee that you’ll be able to do this long term.
Now with all the new apps popping up and offering fixed payments, authors at least have the ability to diversify their income which is a lot more stable.