Rice stacks demonstrate American wealth inequality, put Elon Musk's fortune in perspective

Wealth inequality is a pressing issue, yet its scale can be hard to comprehend. According to Oxfam, wealth inequality refers to the unequal distribution of assets (possessions minus liabilities) among people in a society. To make this concept more tangible, a real estate expert—known as @realestatebulldog on TikTok—used rice grains as a metaphor to demonstrate the staggering disparities in wealth, taking aim at Elon Musk, the world’s richest man.

In his viral video, the expert used rice to symbolize wealth. “One grain of rice represents $200,000. That’s about the median net worth of a citizen in the United States,” he explained. He highlighted that half the U.S. population lives on a single grain or less. According to Business Insider, the Federal Reserve reports that the median net worth for urban residents is $199,200. The expert then showed a small pile of five grains, symbolizing individuals worth $1 million, illustrating the sharp contrast in wealth distribution.

“When most of us think rich, we think of a million dollars,” remarked the real estate expert, emphasizing wealth accumulation as a never-ending vicious circle. At the hundred-million-dollar mark, the video showed the number of rice grains increasing to a handful. “This is about the net worth of CEOs who delay and deny care for sick Americans. This is also about the net worth of CEOs who tell Americans to eat cereal if they can't afford food for their hungry kids,” suggested the content creator without mincing his words. Thereafter, he started criticizing Musk for his reported contribution to the recently concluded presidential election. “This is $277 million, Elon Musk’s personal investment in the 2024 elections,” the real estate expert said, referring to The Washington Post’s report.

Using another billionaire, Vivek Ramaswamy, as an example, he explained: “Only 800 people in the United States have this much money or more.” The man advised his viewers to compare it with the number of people they went to school with as a frame of reference. Then, he illustrated the $6.3 billion net worth of former President Donald Trump by showing a pile of rice grains so large it could no longer fit in both hands.

“He (Trump) recently said in an interview that he doesn't think he can bring grocery prices down after running his campaign on a promise to do so,” the real estate expert stated. He went on to show a tiny mountain of rice grains representing the wealth of Elon Musk, worth $400 billion. “He spent $277 million on the 2024 election cycle while we have homeless veterans on our streets and hungry kids in our schools. This is what actual wealth disparity looks like in America,” he concluded, inviting a variety of reactions. “My grandpa always said, ‘Money is like manure; in a big pile, it stinks but spread it around, and you can watch things grow,’” @juliannacherryjam wrote. “This is the news that should be mainstream,” @staytru2me agreed.

You can follow @realestatebulldog on TikTok for more political and lifestyle content.