That's one part of the bad mental model of organizations and markets (and thus societies) people have. The people at the top may be richer and more powerful, but they're not actually free to do whatever. They have a role to play in the system they ostensibly "control", but when they deviate too far from what the system expects them to do, they get ejected.
Never mistake the finger pointing at the Moon for the Moon itself. Also, never mistake the person barking orders for the source from which those orders originate.
Virus can kill their hosts, and a bunch of individuals can have significant harmful impact on societies.
Their decisions are absolutely constrained by the system's values. They have zero agency in this, and are literally unable to imagine anything different.
