I never truly understood the impact of wealth inequality until I attended my college friends’ reunion:
At my college friends’ reunion, I reconnected with my friend Neha who has been working in Mumbai as an IT professional for over six years now. She had joined the company in the hopes of one day finally being able to fulfill her dream of owning a home in this city. However, she’s beginning to think that this dream of hers has become too distant and unrealistic considering how her paychecks keep vanishing in rent, groceries and endless EMIs.
“How do people even make a living in this city?” she asked.
All this while, a 22 year old content creator I follow has posted a tour to her newly purchased 2 bedroom apartment on her instagram. Which left me wondering, Are we even living in the same world?
Wealth inequality has a tremendous impact on the middle class; the phenomenon refers to the uneven distribution and concentration of financial assets among a small share of the population in society.
According to a July 2025 study, the top 1% of India’s population holds approximately 40.1% of the nation’s wealth, whereas the bottom 50% shares only 6.4%.The financial analyst behind this study states that the present wealth disparity in the nation is wider than it ever was, even during the colonial rule.
“Half the country is fighting for crumbs, while a tiny fraction lives in unimaginable luxury.” -Hardik Joshi
“Today in my view the most serious problem we face as a nation is the grotesque and growing level of wealth and income inequality. This is a profound moral issue, it is an economic issue, and it is a political issue.”
― Bernie Sanders
People who don’t belong in the elite class often feel a sense of being stuck in a place where dreams are visible but unattainable. The same people are constantly exhausted from trying to catch up, they are stuck paying prices set by people far richer than them. The rich get richer and the financially unfortunate wounds up with inflation and inequality.
Understanding the correlation between wealth inequality, inflation and participation in the financial market:
We all know how rising inflation affects the middle class and their daily expenses with limited capital on volatile goods leaving no room for financial growth. However, let’s discuss how even the falling core inflation increases this divide.
Core inflation refers to the rate at which the prices of non-volatile goods rise. When core inflation drops, interest rates generally stop rising, conditioning banks to cut rates. Which makes stocks, bonds, and real estate go up. The middle class doesn’t generally invest in equity, leaving the rewards for the wealthy.
During the fall of core inflation, loans become cheaper; the wealthy borrows for growth while the middle class has to borrow to survive, turning these profitable financial opportunities into situations that further contribute to the financial divide.
Participation in financial markets can change this, but even that comes with its own restraints. The middle class struggles with factors like
- Lack of disposable income and financial literacy.
- Equity beats inflation but it’s beneficial in the long run, lack of financial security becomes a barrier.
- Inability to access financial guidance from trusted financial advisors.
- Investing without guidance and expertise leads to hasty and uninformed decisions.
- Income inequality itself limits the ability of lower income groups to access financial markets, reinforcing the cycle of wealth concentration.
Unless participation significantly increases among lower to mid income groups, the wealthy will continue to outpace everyone else in wealth accumulation due to their longer investment sizes and higher risk tolerance.
Fydaa Finding a Way Out of The Muddle:
“Financial inclusion helps lift people out of poverty and can help speed economic growth.” ―Sri Mulyani Indravat
When we envisioned Fydaa we aimed to address and reduce this gap by promoting financial inclusion and encouraging more people to participate in financial markets by increasing accessibility
Fydaa’s solution is to make financial participation more accessible and affordable to a varied range of people. By providing a SEBI registered financial advisor available at every query, we aim to make investing less intimidating and more achievable to those who may have been hesitant to participate in financial markets before and as a result, are losing out on wealth building opportunities. Our automated investment portfolios are tailored to an individual’s goals and risk tolerance, which can help them map out the process and avoid panicking during market fluctuations. By turning the investment process into a more performable task provided with trusted guidance, we wish to build a secure financial future for everyone.
DISCLAIMER: Multistrato Capital Advisors Private Limited Type of Registration: Non-Individual. RIA Registration Number: INA000015969 Validity: Perpetual Registered Office Address: #903, EcoStar Building Off Aarey Road, Vishweshwar Road, Goregaon East Mumbai- 400063, India GST number: 27AAHCM9321Q1ZS
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Registration granted by SEBI, membership of BASL and certification from NISM in no way guarantee performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors.
“Investment in securities market are subject to market risks. Read all the related documents carefully before investing.
