Why would someone worth ~$50M be flying around VFR in a 40+ year old aircraft if they needed to get somewhere?? How many more of these type of accidents do we need until people get the message??
Yes, it's ironic. John Denver and Steve Fossett, both rich and famous, died flying nondescript aircraft.
That's actually a different they were pilots who flew for fun and knew the risks they were taking. These guys were trying to get somewhere. When Steve Fosset wanted to get somewhere he took the jet and flew at M.90 at 40000'+
Plenty of rich people fly single engine aircraft or warbirds for fun and take the inherent risk.