The OP only addresses money as a resource.  That can work when talking about average people, average employees.  But if you want to talk about elites, money becomes only a yardstick, a metric rather than a resource.<p>Certain people do not value money directly.  They value having more money than other.  They value relative wealth.  This is why a billionaire will fight for that extra 100k from a contractor or may cut wages on a whim.  This drive for relative disparity occurs on the large scale (say a billionaire going after casino workers) the medium scale (athlete A wanting to be paid more than athlete B regardless of number) and too at smallest scales (wanting to be the highest paid in the office).<p>This is human nature.  The danger occurs when a powerful person, unable to meaningfully increase their wealth due to the law of diminished returns, decides to attack those with less.