"To my knowledge, the kulaks were hardly wealthy. {or not?} They simply had a little more than the useful idiots who had nothing."
"Many were not wealthier, only more industrious..."
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080303065735AAs9sAL
The kulaks were industrious.
They were also isolated, insular and remarkably independent. They farmed, worked and traded amongst themselves.
My (admittedly limited) reading suggests that their wealth wasn’t predominantly in money, or gold, but rather land in some instances and raw materials and simply a willingness to work and advance.
They were wealthy in their freedom and self-sufficiency and that is why Stalin—much like the vile Steve Rattners of today—could not tolerate them.