The only thing I said was it’s tautological… if they couldn’t affect the status quo to their desires, then they wouldn’t be considered to have wealth or power in the first place.
Your argument is that elites who wish to change the status quo, but can’t for whatever reason, aren’t really elites. I agree to a point.
I argue even if the above is true, they truly are elites if the word actually describes anyone accurately and not just aspirationally, and that there are too many cooks in the kitchen for one to rise above the din.