John Lennon, Elitist?

I had a conversation with a friend once, who brought up some interesting ideas. We were discussing the Beatles and why the were so important, and why they are still relevant. (he just doesn't get it) Anyway we were into the whole Hippie deal and the peace and love movement and all that, and he said that Lennon was so rich why didn't he just give all his money to charity if he was so great.
Well first off this is a somewhat narrow minded question in that HAD Lennon done that, or anyone else who was once rich for that matter, the same people who are asking why they didn't just give it all away, would instead be saying, "what kind of scumbag that had millions of dollars would just give it all away and leave his widow, ex wife and two children with nothing at all?" Then again, the same argument can be made for Gandhi, he had a family, practiced law, made a good buck, but he gave that all up. OF course this is a religious leader, being compared to a musical artist/entertainer. Which itself I would not really consider a fair comparison. In the end I think that we all, at least the wisest most decent of us, WOULD give it all away if we thought it would help, but these days, in this modern economy, all that would do is turn you into a dirty panhandler, and no ONE would listen to what you had to say about anything anyway.