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Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Institute for Policy Studies has been tracking the rapid growth of rich Americans' assets, and it's become one of the most disturbing reminders of inequality during a crisis that has devastated ordinary families.

As the U.S. approaches 1 million deaths from Covid-19, the country's billionaires have seen their combined wealth rise over $1.7 trillion, a gain of over 58 percent during these challenging times.

So when internet personality Bilal Harry Khan tweeted about the disconnect between the classes, it really struck a chord with other Twitter users.

Image credits: TweetsByBilal

"Overhearing rich people's conversations always cracks me up," Bilal said. "The things they casually do in their social lives truly remind you how broke you are." In just a few days, his words received 136,000 likes and, more interestingly, inspired folks to share examples of these exact situations.

From 60-year-old ladies hitting it off by talking about their mansions to a student complaining about having to attend her dad's hotel openings, here are some of the most outrageous ones.

#2

Things-Rich-People-Do-Remind-How-Broke-You-Are

brinalynn__ Report

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LeighAnne Brown-Pedersen
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You’re making money (hopefully great money) by flaunting your assets. Is it weird that I’m mixed on this. Strange way of redistributing wealth. But… good?

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U.S. corporate after-tax profits hit a record high of $2.5 trillion in the third quarter of 2021, further enriching wealthy executives and shareholders. One factor behind the profits spike, according to writers Sarah Anderson and Brian Wakamo, is the fact that giant corporations have used the excuse of pandemic-related supply chain bottlenecks to jack up prices for gasoline, food, and other essentials.

Workers, particularly those at the bottom end of the wage scale, have gotten some long-overdue pay increases, but these were not the result of any employer largesse. Instead, many have gone on strike and taken other actions to leverage their power at a time of pandemic staffing challenges. Unfortunately, rising consumer prices are taking a bite out of those wage gains.

#3

Things-Rich-People-Do-Remind-How-Broke-You-Are

RMauriceParker Report

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Nathaniel
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I summer my broke @ss in my house where I also spring, autumn and winter.

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#4

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_Amanda_1984 Report

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Nathaniel
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When most people cannot afford to get on the housing ladder, that woman is most definitely rich.

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#5

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Damn_thats_wild Report

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Béla Kun
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Most of those rich ppl know deep down they don't deserve that wealth, hence they have huge imposter syndrome which makes them A grade a holes and stingy af.

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There are several prominent case studies and analysis reports that provide insight into income inequality, income disparity, and income distributions in the U.S. and across the world.

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The Urban Institute, for example, is one of them. In an analysis of 50 years of economic data, the institution showed that the poorest got poorer while the richest got much richer.

Between 1963 and 2016:

  • The poorest 10% of Americans went from having zero assets to being $1,000 in debt.
  • Families in the middle-income segment more than doubled their prior average wealth.
  • Families in the top 10% had more than five times their prior wealth.
  • Families in the top 1% had more than seven times their prior wealth.
#6

Things-Rich-People-Do-Remind-How-Broke-You-Are

ronythedisciple Report

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Nathaniel
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I once owned a paddle boat. It was a wind up one that would paddle about in the bath.

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#8

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lizzyloo412 Report

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Green Machine
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Maybe she should cut out Starbucks.. and try to eat in more? Poor woman... LAWL.

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#9

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tuchimidepierna Report

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no name
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It makes my a*s itch, that in this day in and age we still have Royal families.

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In 2018, the Economic Policy Institute released a report showing a general trend toward increasing incomes of the top earners following the 2008 recession. Between 2009 and 2015, the incomes of those in the top 1% grew faster than the incomes of the other 99% in 43 states and Washington D.C.

Many factors can be associated with this trend, including salary stagnation for wage-earning Americans, tax cuts for the richest Americans, a loss of manufacturing jobs, and a soaring stock market that inflated the worth of corporate executives and hedge fund managers.

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Post-recession, companies are also investing heavily to hire and keep workers with specialized skills in fields such as engineering and healthcare. This has caused reductions or new automation takeovers in other functions, pushing down wages for workers in less competitive positions.

#11

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Weirdnesss_ Report

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Nathaniel
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mean depression can effect anyone but.... this is a whole different world, and can only one rolex? If I had a rolex, I'd sell it. To pay for the things I need.

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#12

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jonutchii Report

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LeighAnne Brown-Pedersen
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Remember when Bloomberg explained tips on ‘poor people’ making less than $300,000 and tips on how to afford to live. So all us peasants down here making less than $300 …

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According to a 2022 report by World Inequality Lab, the global bottom 50% captures only a very small share of global income, just 8.5%. This means that, on average, the bottom 50% earns slightly less than one-fifth of the global average, i.e. just $2,915 per year.

The global middle 40% earns 39.5% of the total: its income is very close to the global average, at $17,178 per year.

But the global top 10% earns 52% of the total, which is slightly over five times the global average. Its average income per adult amounts to $90,782 per year.

#14

Things-Rich-People-Do-Remind-How-Broke-You-Are

meat_trees Report

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#16

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hashtaglilred Report

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Hans
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Because you might want a planet to exist for people to live on tomorrow."

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Moos
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Shouldn't you launder new towels *before* the 1st use? Or is it smthng only poor ppl do for their poor ppl towels?

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Alicia M
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm assuming these towels don't get washed before use and I'm having trouble processing that.

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Al Padilla
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My greatest missed opportunity as a medical practioner. I practice for almost 40 years in a famously wealthy suburb 45 minutes north of NYC (won't say the G-word). Most/many of the wealthy residents treated their "staff" abysmally. Underpaid, no insurance. The groundskeepers, horse grooms, cleaning people, cooks, maids, and even those who raised their children for them. A wealthy lady brought in her nanny, a 20's woman for consultation, but first thing, she asked if I could fix the problem "inexpensively." Turns out, for 40 years I took care of 1/4-1/3 of my patients for free, since none of their employers provided insurance. Could'a said: "If this were 1860, and Alabama, and your nanny were Black, this conversation might be normal. It is not." To my eternal regret, I didn't. Hospital CEO bragged that his wife didn't work. I did ask, "Can you get her fixed?"

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Amy Taylor
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Anytime people throw away things that are still useful, it gives me hives. DONATE IT!!! Shelters and rescues love used towels and blankets!!

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lara
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I read that Barbra Streisand only wears new jeans. She wears them and then throws them away.

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Hank
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Again, the English skills of a held-back Mongolian goat-herder. Don't complain, you had a chance at learning, you failed.

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Aisling Raye
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A lot of the posts on here about college kids are more about the parents than the children. The kids grew up listening to their parents talk and behave in a certain way their whole lives, so the kids think that's how the world is. Breaking that bubble and leaving home is sort of like exposure therapy. (Source - life experience lol)

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Nandina
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And can't be bothered to give the used ones to somebody else?

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Erin Eubanks
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

New towels don't dry as well and leave fuzzy stuff all over your skin. Why you want that every shower?

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-
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For eff's sake, just launder them and give them away.

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Global wealth, however, appears to be even more unequally distributed than global income. The poorest half of the world's population owns just 2% of total net wealth, whereas the richest half owns 98% of all the wealth on earth.

The bottom 50% owns, on average, $3,019 of assets (typically in the form of land, housing, deposits, or cash).

Among the richest half of the global population, the middle 40% owns just 22% of total wealth (on average $42,570 per adult), and the top 10% owns 76% (i.e. $573,350 per adult, on average, including a large share of financial wealth such as stocks and bonds).

#18

Things-Rich-People-Do-Remind-How-Broke-You-Are

momnixon Report

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Carol Emory
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"here...let me babysit for free to make up the difference. Oh wait...you don't pay me enough for that to happen!"

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#19

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Realitytvbiased Report

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Dirk Daring
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The sentence, "You just have to hire someone to screw your..." could have ended very differently.

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"We should note that when we measure global wealth inequality using market exchange rates, rather than purchasing power parities, then there is even more inequality," the report noted.

"The global bottom 50% owns less than 1% of total wealth and the global top 10% nearly 82% of it. To summarize ... the world is marked by a very high level of income inequality and an extreme level of wealth inequality."

#24

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SansDebate Report

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pj56jvys9x avatar
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wonder how those people would cope if their parents suddenly went broke. And by broke I mean not 2 cents to rub together and miles deep in debt.

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#25

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KyMamaKS Report

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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

$1K for a steak dinner?? What wine were they having with the Kobe beef?

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The World Bank noted that although global poverty has more recently resumed its pre-pandemic downward trajectory, between 75 million and 95 million additional people could be living in extreme poverty in 2022 compared to pre-COVID-19 projections, due to the lingering effects of the pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine, and rising inflation.

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Research suggests that the effects of the current crises will almost certainly be felt in most countries through 2030. Under these conditions, the goal of bringing the global absolute poverty rate to less than 3 percent by 2030, which was already at risk before the pandemic, is now beyond reach, unless countries take swift, significant, and substantial policy action, The World Bank believes.

#30

Things-Rich-People-Do-Remind-How-Broke-You-Are

heyyitsjanea Report

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Monic Krugell
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The poor poor little fragile thing that has to go get free food and entertainment.....

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Note: this post originally had 45 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.