Indeed, most of the replies so far have been all the same idealized thing . All in all, I would prefer a Shaftesbury or a Conde over a Bernard Maddoff or a Bill Gates.

Also aristocracy "illiterate"? WTH? The British "aristocracy" had a solid etiquette and superb political skills, complemented of course by their higher literacy and knowledge than the rest of the mass. For centuries it was them who patronized the arts and the letters, and not just for the knack of profit and consumer appeal like a CEO would, but of taste. A generalization still, but a valid one.