These articles need to go away. Burning Man has always featured wealthy participants. Radical Inclusion is one of the 10 basic principals of the event. We welcome ALL burners, whether you've flown in your private plane to the BRC airport (yes, we have our own airport), or you've rented an RV with your friends, or you've arrived by bus and are camping in a simple tent. Everyone makes their experience as they choose, and as they are able.
That being said, it's not cheap, and it's never been cheap. Getting out to the middle of nowhere tends to be like that. Your gear can get trashed, you might require a storage unit each year, the ticket is $350+...but you know what else is expensive? A European vacation, and quite frankly I'd rather go to Burning Man. :)
So yeah, don't believe what you read in these articles, which seem to pop up 5-10 times every year just before the burn. At nearly 70,000 attendees you would be hard pressed to make a general statement about any one group, including the "rich bay area tech millionaires" that are ruining the event. We welcome them with open arms! Let's hope they brought some cool gifts for everyone.
)'(