Wrong. "Rich guys running the show" indeed is new, quite recent in fact, with the ascendant of unapologetic worship of the financial sector. In the not-so-recent past, "rich guys" were content to put up the money and perhaps assign it to a specific area, i.e. Shakespeare, while leaving the "how" to administrators.
What we're seeing, especially so in the out-of-control situation in North Carolina, is the mega-rich now becoming hands-on directors, saying which programs should thrive and which should suffer the death-of-a-thousand-cuts. In many conservative states, legislatures use subject matter (political science, Darwinism!) as an excuse to slash public funding.
You obviously are content to have gentleman (for their are few if any women driving this) of very deep pockets, none of whom are competent or experienced in the field of academic administration, calling the shots.
Universities are not for-profit industries. There is a basic disconnect here.