Becoming a talmud chochom is accessible to all.
Hillel mechayev aniyim, r Eliezer mechayev ashirim
Is hillel mechayev everyone to learn torah, or to become a talmid chochom? I'd assume the former.
Logically, Hillel would obligate one in his similar financial situation to reach his maximum spiritual potential just as Hillel did. -That would definitely qualify a title talmid chochom.
(Not to say that one would actually be Hilllel... - R naftali Amsterdam to R Yisroel Salanter one purim: "if only I had the middos of Rebbi, the hartz of the yesod veshoresh havoda, and the kop of the shaagas Aryeh. Then I would....."
R Yisroel: " - ניין! מיט דיין הערץ, מיט דין קאף etc.. "
So one can reach high levels of limud hatorah, Hillel and R Elazar exclude financial position as a factor.
What's the point of learning if not to become a talmid chacham, right?
The point of learning torah is learning Torah.
Since orayso vekudsha brich hu Chad, this is how a Jew connects to gd.
There is also a mitzva chiyuvis of yedias hatorah (that at least according to the shulchan oruch harav is a quite literal positive obligation upon everyone to know all of the Torah...! iirc he takes a very stringent position on this one)
So naturally one would also strive to become a talmid chacham through said learning. But it is not necessarily one and the same.
Are you being facetious?
The next morning after the גאולה האמיתית והשלימה is here, we're all sitting and learning Torah. Is that in order to become a Talmid Chochom?
Umalah haaretz deah kamayim... It won't even be an "illitist thing".