> the actual elite

The class position of the 0.1% (Vanderbilt heirs, Mars heirs, Koch heirs etc.) matters, but they themselves don't matter much. The bulk of the population are unskilled or semi-skilled labor, and ~10% of the population are in the professional-managerial class.

The efforts and ideology of a highly trained, highly educated, somewhat meritocraticaly placed vanguard matters, they are an existing social force, whereas the 0.1% is totally dependent on others for their position.