If society could admit that this networking has value, instead of trying to awkwardly access it without naming it, I think we would all be a little saner. A person's social network -- particularly when they know billionaires -- is inherently valuable in and of itself. Even in more meritocratic engineering firms, being able to refer competent engineers is often financially rewarded.

So let the elite monetize their social networks and let us stop having to not point out they are blatantly bad at their proclaimed job.