“Despite the collapsing economy, the rich are getting richer while the poor and middle classes are getting poorer.” Is that actually true?

It’s easy to dismiss Gary Stevenson as just another internet ranter—East London accent, a healthy love for the word fuck, and a tendency to sound like a conspiracy theorist. But listen closely, and what he’s saying starts to hit uncomfortably close to home.

Let me give you an example.

A while back, I was helping a tradesman mate renovate a rental property in a small cul-de-sac in Norwich. Just the usual day on-site: tea, banter, drilling. Mid-chat, I found out the landlord didn’t just own the house we were working on—he owned seven properties in that same little Close.

Now, being conservative, let’s say each one brings in about £1,000 a month in rent. That’s £7,000 a month, tax-free and mortgage-free. Not bad, right? But that’s not even scratching the surface. This landlord apparently owns another 120 properties across Norwich.

Let that sink in: 120 properties. That’s around £120,000 in passive income every month. Even after expenses, that’s easily a seven-figure income every year—for doing pretty much nothing at this point.

Curious, I asked how he got started. I’ll admit, I expected some classic tale of ruthless ambition or a greedy money-hungry climb. But actually, it’s a story many people would relate to—and probably follow themselves if given the chance.

It began with an inheritance. Nothing too outrageous, but enough to buy three cheap houses outright. Bit of advice from a financially savvy relative: don’t leave it sitting in the bank—buy property. So he did. Renovated, rented, reinvested. Rinse and repeat. Now he’s sitting on a portfolio worth around £48 million.

Smart moves? Absolutely. But here’s the problem: when someone can rock up and buy a house with pocket change, they can easily outbid regular buyers. And when enough landlords do that, it pushes house prices through the roof. Regular folks are forced to rent—and often from those same landlords—paying “market rates” that make it nearly impossible to save for a deposit.

It’s a vicious cycle. The rich get richer by owning assets. Everyone else pays them for the privilege of living in a house.

This example shines a light on something else: the inheritance divide. Many of today’s wealthiest families didn’t build their fortunes from scratch—they inherited businesses, land, or property from parents or grandparents. Those assets generate passive income, which is used to buy more assets, which create even more income. It snowballs.

And yet, it’s not really about greed vs. laziness. It’s not fair to say “rich people are greedy” or “poor people just need to work harder.” It’s more complicated than that.

So here’s the real question: when is enough… enough?

I asked my girlfriend: “If you inherited a house, would you rent it out at market rate? And if the rent let you buy another doer-upper to rent out, would you do it?”

Of course, most people would say yes. It’s smart. It’s practical. And in isolation, there’s nothing wrong with it.

But if everyone’s climbing the same ladder—buy, renovate, rent, repeat—then when do we stop? When do we decide that we have enough? When do we start giving back instead of hoarding more?

After all, a real ladder has a top. You climb it to reach a destination—not to keep going forever.

Meanwhile, we’ve got empty homes, second homes, holiday lets—entire properties sitting unused for most of the year. And then right next door, families are crammed into overpriced rentals, struggling to make ends meet.

This isn’t just about money. It’s about the fabric of society. When homes stop being places to live and start being assets to trade, communities fall apart. Schools lose funding, local shops close, and people stop caring about where they live—because they don’t live there anymore. They’re just passing through.

And what about the government? Most public services are underfunded or outright broken. The roads are a joke. Infrastructure projects are overpriced and underdelivered. Private contractors make a fortune while the government—and taxpayers—pick up the tab.

Utility companies? They made record profits even during lockdown while everyday people were struggling to pay their bills. Trillions were pumped into the economy, and yet somehow, none of it made it into our pockets.

So yeah, maybe Gary Stevenson isn’t wrong. In fact, maybe he’s spot on. The rich are getting richer. Everyone else is fighting over scraps. And unless we seriously address the wealth gap, in his words:

“We’re fucked.”

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Some takeaways:

• One man’s inheritance turned into a £48 million property empire.
• Wealth snowballs through ownership of assets—especially property.
• Inheritance and access to capital play a massive role in wealth inequality.
• The question isn’t “How do I get rich?” but “When is enough?”
• Meanwhile, broken public services and empty homes are a symptom of a deeper societal problem.