Scott Galloway says the real divide in America isn’t rich vs poor — it’s ‘owners versus earners.’ Here’s how to close the gap

His comments came as new Oxfam data showed the average pay of 384 CEOs in the S&P 500 rose 25.6% between 2024 and 2025. In contrast, average worker wages rose just 1.3% in real terms over that period, according to the same study.

While Galloway argued for higher taxes on extreme wealth and equity compensation, his broader point was that ownership allows wealth to compound faster than wages over time.

“If you own $100,000 worth of stock, it can grow tax-deferred and keep compounding without ever getting clipped unless you sell it,” he said.

To give an example, consider two Americans who each start with $100,000 and earn 8% annual returns. One pays 30% taxes on gains every year, leaving less money to reinvest. The other keeps their money invested with tax-deferred growth. After 20 years, the tax-deferred investor would have roughly $466,000 compared to about $326,000 for the annually taxed investor.

For many Americans, that dynamic can make it increasingly difficult to get ahead on salary alone, especially as real estate, stocks and other assets continue to outpace wages in terms of value.

America’s wealth gap may increasingly be about asset ownership

The best example of this disparity in action is housing. Visual Capitalist’s historical analysis of the ratio of median house prices to median household incomes shows a climb from 3.5 in 1985 to 5.1 in 2025. That means the median cost of a house in America grew to over five times the median annual income of an average household in 2025.

Data like this shows that Americans who own appreciating assets can often build wealth significantly faster than those who rely primarily on paychecks — and the math behind it supports Galloway’s point.

But it doesn’t just apply to billionaires or corporate executives.

Here’s an example:

Worker A: Relies on paychecks only

Worker A starts with a respectable $70,000 salary and gets a 3% raise every year, but saves little because most of their income goes to living costs. After about 20 years, their salary would grow to around $126,430.

Sounds like a good wage. But taxes, inflation and expenses will continually reduce how much that income can actually compound into wealth.

Worker B: Owns appreciating assets

Worker B also earns $70,000, but they invest $500 a month into an index fund. They earn an average annual return of 8% and continue to invest for 20 years.

The future value of those monthly investments would be about $294,510. And that’s assuming Worker B doesn’t invest more as their salary grows.

This all becomes clearer when real estate enters the picture. After all, there’s a reason why many hold true to the maxim famously attributed to Andrew Carnegie: “90% of millionaires are made through real estate.”

How the rich get richer

Homeowners have benefited from surging property values over the past decade, and especially during the pandemic. For example, Zillow data shows that home values grew by over 40% in the year ending in August 2021. Admittedly, the market has cooled in 2026 — but one of the hottest markets, Hartford, CT, still grew by 4.6% in the 12 months leading up to April 2026.

In addition to their potential for consistent growth, rental properties can be a great source of steady, passive income for investors. However, the time, effort and costs involved in managing and maintaining multiple properties may prevent many from investing. So, unless you’re a hedge fund titan or an oil baron, you might have been shut out of one of the most profitable corners of the market.

That’s where mogul comes in. This real estate investment platform offers fractional ownership in blue-chip rental properties, giving investors monthly rental income, real-time appreciation and tax benefits — without the need for a hefty down payment or late-night tenant calls.

Founded by former Goldman Sachs real estate investors, the mogul team handpicks the top 1% of single-family rental homes nationwide for you. Simply put, you can invest in institutional quality offerings for a fraction of the usual cost.

Each property undergoes a vetting process that requires a minimum 12% return, even in downside scenarios. Across the board, the platform features an average annual IRR of 18.8%. Their cash-on-cash yields, meanwhile, average between 10% to 12% annually. Offerings often sell out in under three hours, with investments typically ranging between $15,000 and $40,000 per property.

Getting started is quick and easy. You can sign up for an account and then browse available properties. Once you verify your information with their team, you can invest like a mogul in just a few clicks.

Take real estate a step further

For investors with larger portfolios to work with, Lightstone DIRECT’s direct-to-investor model ensures a high degree of alignment between individual investors and a vertically integrated, institutional owner-operator — a sophisticated and streamlined option for individual investors looking to diversify into private-market real estate.

With Lightstone DIRECT, accredited individuals can access the same multifamily and industrial assets Lightstone pursues with its own capital, with minimum investments starting at $100,000.

Real estate may be one of the most common wealth-building tools, but many affluent households don’t rely on a single asset class.

Build ownership

Data from the Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances shows this well — while primary real estate dominates the wealth of middle-class families, affluent households diversify aggressively, namely, in stocks and businesses.

All said, long-term wealth accumulation comes from a multilayered approach that combines appreciating assets together over time: putting together stocks, retirement accounts, private investments and hard assets in ways that allow capital to compound faster than wages alone.

According to data from the National Study of Millionaires published by Ramsey Solutions, 8 out of 10 millionaires consistently invested in retirement accounts like 401(k)s over long periods of time, while also building wealth through appreciating assets like businesses and stocks.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean chasing risky investments or trying to become the next Jeff Bezos. For most Americans, it might simply be about gradually gaining exposure to appreciating assets and diversifying into alternative assets over time — a slow method to millionairehood rather than just inheriting wealth, but it’s a path traveled by as many as 79% of successful millionaires today, according to Ramsey Solutions.

So, what are some methods used by the wealthy to get, and stay, rich?

Diversify into alternative assets historically favored by the wealthy

Alternative assets have historically played a major role in the portfolios of institutional investors and ultra-high-net-worth households seeking diversification beyond stocks and bonds.