Rich people historically do things to distinguish themselves from people who are not rich. If you ever watch a historical movie, or go to a Scottish festival, you'll sometimes see women wearing these blouses with really long, open, flappy sleeves, where the opening is so big, you could literally fit a watermelon up the sleeve. The purpose? Just to show the owner could afford that much cloth.

If a sport can be played by middle class people, rich people will either gravitate to their own subgroups in the sport, or take up a sport that middle class people can't afford. It's just people doing what people do with tribal markers.