I'd be hesitant to make the latter statement in isolation. Given my experiences with various levels of "important individuals" over the years, the money is MOS

I'd be hesitant to make the latter statement in isolation. Given my experiences with various levels of "important individuals" over the years, the money is MOST useful for opening that door in the first place. It's a lot easier to offer a group of high power individuals a 5 star dinner with a realistic expectation they'll who up, as opposed to cold calling them as just another average joe. Once that connection is established, the relationship is much less active bribery and much more "let's have a little chat and see if we can't find something mutually agreeable"; although to be frank, I'm not sure I'd say the latter is any less worrying.