The Rich Keep Getting Richer — But Staying Poor Is No Longer Just Circumstance

For decades, we’ve repeated the same explanation for economic inequality: the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer.
It’s a phrase that sounds true, compassionate, and unavoidable.

For a long time, it mostly was.

But something fundamental has shifted—and continuing to talk as if it hasn’t may now be doing more harm than good.

This isn’t an argument that poverty is easy to escape. It’s not a denial of hardship, health issues, systemic barriers, or bad luck. Those realities are real. But what has quietly changed is access. Access to information. Access to ownership. Access to participation that once required wealth, credentials, or the “right” connections.

That shift is what inspired my book, The $100 Investor.

Not because everyone should invest. Not because money magically multiplies. But because the old excuse—“people like me were never allowed in”—is no longer fully true.

For most of modern history, everyday people were locked out of early opportunity. You could work hard your entire life and still never own a piece of anything beyond your paycheck. Early investing was reserved for insiders and the already wealthy. In that world, staying poor often was circumstance.

That world has changed.

Today, someone with limited income can observe how businesses are built, learn how ownership works, and even participate at a scale that doesn’t threaten survival. Equity crowdfunding, fractional ownership, transparent platforms, and freely available education have opened doors that were once sealed shut.

The $100 Investor doesn’t argue that these tools guarantee success. It argues something quieter—and more important: you are no longer excluded by default.

This is where the conversation gets uncomfortable.

The divide today isn’t only between rich and poor. It’s between those who engage—carefully, patiently, intentionally—and those who opt out entirely because they believe the outcome is already decided. Many people still wait for perfect conditions: perfect knowledge, perfect confidence, perfect timing. In reality, most long-term progress begins with imperfect participation and long horizons.

Staying poor today isn’t about blame. It’s about belief.

Victimhood feels protective. It explains why nothing changes. But it also freezes people in place. Ownership—even at a small, thoughtful level—says something different: I’m allowed to learn. I’m allowed to observe. I’m allowed to participate without rushing or risking everything.

That’s the core idea behind The $100 Investor. Not tactics. Not promises. Permission.

The rich may continue getting richer for reasons beyond any individual’s control. That reality won’t disappear overnight. But remaining on the sidelines forever—without learning, observing, or even considering ownership—is increasingly a choice shaped by outdated assumptions, not immovable circumstances.

You don’t have to invest.
You don’t have to act quickly.
You don’t have to take risks you can’t afford.

But you no longer have to believe you were never invited.

And sometimes, that belief is the difference between staying stuck and slowly changing the trajectory of a life.