Yes, but salaries, titles, etc. do not necessarily correlate with performance. Nepotism, "CEO is friends with my dad", and other factors completely unrelated to performance are often the source of those things.
Good grades, generally speaking, are immune to any such influence.
Have you heard about the US college admissions scandal? Surely academia must be flawless, pristine in regard for the moral high ground based on your assumption, and surely they don't have all the pitfalls that every other walk of life has.
Homework has been known to be done by others students, or parents even. In higher academia, how many people on a project really lean in to contribute? Maybe 2 out of 5.
Graduate school may be slightly more immune to this, but the barrier to entry is also much much higher monetarily for most.
Good grades, generally speaking, are immune to any such influence.