Heads of the wealthy elite rabidly praise buffoon (5)
I believe the answer is:
twerp
'buffoon' is the definition.
(both can mean a stupid person)
'heads of the wealthy elite rabidly praise' is the wordplay.
'heads of' says to take the initial letters.
The first letters of 'the wealthy elite rabidly praise' is 'TWERP'.
(Other definitions for twerp that I've seen before include "Foolish person (slang)" , "Despicable person" , "Foolish fellow" , "Contemptible type" , "In slang, a stupid or objectionable person" .)