This is definitely factual! I learned this almost 50 years ago when, new to a DC assignment, my boss was quoted in the WAPO as stating "Well the people just don't know what is good for them" during an interview on a hotly contested issue. I immediately "inherited" the issue for the next 3 years!!!
I then learned that nearly all the senior officials I encountered held disdain for the "little people" that they were "helping"!!!
Watch a few minutes of daytime television and you’ll find yourself starting to agree with Gruber.