I have a friend who is a missionary in Uganda. The folks she works with are anything but rich;
things we Americans take for granted are luxuries in that part of Africa.

My friend has gotten into astronomy and the people there love observing the night sky
and learning about the Universe with her (they have incredibly dark skies to boot). While
they are certainly not rich monetarily, they are enriched in other ways by seeing the stars.

Being rich doesn't make one any more knowledgable about the skies. I frequently attend
an open house held every clear Friday night at a local observatory. The majority of the
people who show up are educated and at least middle class - but it often does not
translate into knowledge of the sciences, as they frequently do not know even the
most basic aspects of astronomy (their little kids do, on the other hand).

As I said, light pollution may not destroy humanity outright, but it makes us less rich
when it comes to appreciating our place in the Cosmos.