Airplane owners have been fighting this perception problem for years. When people hear "private plane" they think of GM executives arriving in DC in their jets looking for a handout and movie stars flying around in Lears. Reality is somewhat less glamorous, with most private airplanes being 40+ years old and sell for around $40k
The top end of aviation, just like the high end of motor home owners, is full of "rich" people. They usually don't stayed interested in one thing for too long. They drive the industry through the golden rule ("Them what has the gold make the rules"), but there's always someone ready to buy their toy when they inevitably move onto their next "hobby".