I think there are differences between coastal elites and others. I grew up in New York City and had a few bizarre encounters with wealthy people. When I was younger, I also dated a couple of wealthy guy, both of whom grew up in California, and in both cases I cut the relationship off very quickly as I saw things I didn’t like in how they treated people.

However, those examples are not representative of all wealthy people.

When I was in Michigan, one of the ladies I worked with was part of a family that donated land to the town, for a park. She was top 1%, and a total sweetheart. She also had a really strong work ethic. Later, in Texas, I got to know a couple that was also in the 1%. Now, she was a bit arrogant (though he was a dear) but there are arrogant poor people too. She would sometimes take advantage of local tradespeople, which she could get away with; however, she also spent a month one year cooking for people on Indian reservations. Her husband and children joined her for part of that time. They didn’t have to do this, but they did.

The thing is, people are just people. Money doesn’t change basic character but it can magnify it. So it’s not a surprise that people who would normally be jerks become even more obviously jerk-y when they attain wealth. But there are also plenty of people who are decent human beings who, when they become wealthy, do enormously kind things.