I am actually not sure if they are such moneybags, it's just that they i) actually do commission artists since they have a need (you can't free ride your way into having your fursona illustrated) ii) buying or making a decent fursuit needs resources, money, skills and/or equipment.

It's like how gaming is by now super widespread, but PC Master Race is elitist as fuck as to build a high class gaming computer you need not only expensive computer, but also peripherals, where as someone with less funds buys a console to reuse their TV or games on mobile or web or plays retro games and so on. But PC gaming isn't really a moneybags affair either.