I agree that being rich does not guarantee any kind of Nirvana and that the discussion about the sound should not include the price.
At the same time, more expensive equipment often does sound better than the cheap one. Reasons may be many, but expensive piece is frequently better than the significantly cheaper one. Of course, there are exceptions, many of them, to that observation. Still, at the end of the day, buying blindly (not even listening to it) $150 000 equipment is more likely to yield "better" sound than doing the same with $2000.
There are a few posts in this thread that are accurate, in my opinion, but not on the point. Incremental benefits of some more expensive products may not be worth the trouble for someone and may be perceived ridiculously expensive for such a small improvement to others, but they are still improvements. It is personal decision if it is worth it to the buyer. Many may say it is not, but every now and then someone may find $70000 power cord worthwhile. It depends, heavily, on the amount of disposable income and cannot be made as an universal statement what is worth it and what is not.
Now, of course, there is a question if that power cord makes a difference at all and that is the title of this thread anyway.