I also think some very wealthy people simply aren't that bright. They genuinely believe their own meritocratic myths and fail to understand how things like public education make them money or keep them alive. They won't connect the dots until their nurse fails to read a pill bottle properly.
People are like "why would these supposedly pro business Republicans be cutting funding for public universities that are huge economic growth engines" and like look at how the richest states vote and how the poorest states vote. If you were a Republican would you want your state to become wealthier?
To add to it, the billionaires think everything they say is correct simply because they have a billion dollars. If they weren't right, they wouldn't be "successful" and they must be successful because they have a billion dollars. They can also do away with any opposition whether it's real or not.
