The manager at my company that keeps this "no full-time telecommute" policy is in his mid-40's. And he's not rich. Well compensated, yes, but not 20 million dollar home in Atherton and a Tesla rich, more like "drives a BMW 4 series from his Peninsula Condo", but he's certainly not rich enough to not need to work.
So I don't think this is a problem with "old rich people".
He put the policy in place when he was hired (before then it was a more loose "come to the office if/when you want to", which worked for a 20 person company, but doesn't work so well with a 50 or 100 person company), along with more regular working hours (flex hours are fine but everyone is generally expected to be in the office between 10am - 3pm to allow meetings to be scheduled)
by old and rich i mean exactly what you described -- a person who works as a manager, is middle aged, and makes a healthy six figure salary. that's "rich" to most people. the ceo in a 20M mansion certainly qualifies also.
A 6 figure salary in the Bay Area is not what most people would call "rich", in some areas you can qualify for subsidized housing with a 6 figure salary and a family of 4.
And while I may be biased by being a decade older, "mid-forties" doesn't seem old for a senior manager.
In any case, unless someone is truly wealthy, you can't say "Oh well they don't care about their job because they are rich", because they need that job, and if they are a poor manager, they'll lose that job.
i'm from california and have lived in the bay. i'm not a podunk who doesn't know what a california salary looks like. we live in a wealth bubble, meaning even your 'lowly' six figure manager is still a rich guy to most people.
my point stands, and i'm doubling down on it. go check out the rest of america and the world, and you might see what i mean.
So I don't think this is a problem with "old rich people".