Well, you got that wrong, especially for her. I know some of these people and in fact they do see themselves holding high office as a public service. Their reasoning is something like this: I'm already wealthy, don't have to work for a living. But I can make myself useful by running for public office or by taking a crappy paycheck (by their standards) for some high level bureaucratic position and so make myself useful. And here are some helpful connections that will help me achieve that goal.

And so they convince themselves that they are not in it for the money but merely for the public good, as wealthy people they are hard to bribe (somewhat true) and better this than loafing around doing nothing all day.

Whether it is the best for society is another matter, but this is a fair representation of some of the people in those circles that I know. They would rather see it as a sacrifice than as them holding power for power's sake because that's not what you're supposed to do.

It's loosely connected to Noblesse Oblige (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/noblesse%20oblige ), as in that you should strive to do good deeds and to use your station in life wisely if you are wealthy or in a position of power (but then you first have to obtain a position of power...).