I don't think it's as simple as that. Wealth is a product of society and population. Billionaires need people to have decent incomes to buy their products or there isn't any money to hoard. Best to keep those folks pacified so you are reasonably safe walking around in life as a billionaire or you become a prisoner of your wealth. It seems to me the masses don't need billionaires in order to exist but billionaires need the masses in order to exist. Henry Ford stated he wanted his factory workers to all be able to afford a car so there was a consumer market available. If billionaires are too draconian, it can come back to bite them. Even presidents get assassinated. Piss off enough people badly enough and it stops being safe to be you, no matter who you are.

PS -- There are riots in London currently going on:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2861840

http://news.yahoo.com/london-rioters-battle-police-shooting-...

PPS -- I've seen a couple of comments on HN indicating the rioters are staying ahead of the police using Blackberries. I find this funny given your remarks about how technology has changed things.