In my opinion, money is a magnifier, like power. It is very possible to be corrupt/bigoted/dishonest etc, but the more money or power someone has, the greater the effect.
An interesting example of British politics. Originally, MPs did not get paid for sitting in the houses of parliament as the idea was that by choosing to become MPs, they were showing that they were willing to sacrifice time/money for the privilege of directing the country. While this did mean that those without significant financial reserves would find it almost impossible to become an MP, the sacrifice involved tended to focus the mind and the result was MPs such as Gladstone and Disreali, who were also masters of political invective (but I digress). Any MP who was corrupt would soon be revealed and reviled by the others.
Then in order to bring in a larger potential group, MPs started to get paid and their expenses met.
While this did indeed allow a few superior MPs to attain office (Lady Margaret Thatcher being a case in point), it also allowed for quite a few corrupt MP's to get into office and abuse it, such as John "Two-Shags" Prescott who was renowned for chasing his secretary around the desk Benny Hill-style. There was also the whole
expenses scandal, the ramifications of which are still quite visible.
The whole thing can be summed up as "Money or power makes good people better and bad people worse".
