As in Athens, the right to participate was restricted to men, just as it was also in all later democracies and republics until the twentieth century.
Why write for the orchestra? For one thing it's a very challenging problem.
As a parent and a citizen, I'll take a Bill Gates (or Warren Buffett) over Steve Jobs every time. If we must have billionaires, better they should ignore Jobs's example and instead embrace the morality and wisdom of the great industrialist-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.