Toorak residents blamed for ‘damaging’ society in bizarre letter

Toorak residents have received a bizarre letter urging them to give away their holiday homes, saying their wealth puts others “in danger”.

Multiple Toorak residents received a bizarre letter in the mail over the past week.

Wealthy Toorak residents have been urged to give away their investment properties and holiday homes in a bizarre letter circulating in mailboxes.

The anonymous note, signed by “concerned friends”, was dropped at homes across Melbourne’s leafy southeastern suburb over the past week.

The front of the typed letter warned residents to take the message “seriously” while labelling locals “too rich”.

The back of the note blamed Toorak homeowners for Australia’s cost of living crisis, claiming they were “taking more than their fair share”.

“We’re concerned about the damage you’re doing to our society,” it read.

“You’re too wealthy, and that’s harming a lot of people.

“Millions of people are struggling to pay their rents, mortgages, energy bills and to afford healthy food. They don’t have enough because you and others like you have too much.

“That’s because resources are finite. The more you have, the less there is for others, and at the moment you’re taking more than your fair share.

“For things to improve for people who don’t have enough, some of your wealth must go to them.”

The front of the letter labelled Toorak residents “too rich”. Picture: Twitter

The letter then urged residents to give away a “substantial portion” of their wealth to avoid “unrest and violence”.

This included investment properties, holiday homes and cars.

“If you do nothing about inequality, you put us all in danger,” it read.

“History teaches us that wealth inequality breeds resentment and anger among people who are not wealthy.

“If we reach a point where those feeling boil over, then we’ll see unrest and violence which will endanger every one of us. This is a future we must avoid.

“As someone who’s causing inequality, you have the means the responsibility to fix it.

“You can do this by giving away a substantial portion of your wealth. This isn’t just the ethical thing to do, it’ll help steer our society towards harmony and away from chaos.”

The bottom of the letter provided details of a website with limited text that read: “Hello friend. You got our letter! If you have any questions or comments, we’re happy to chat.”

An email address was also included on the website.

The back of the letter provided three steps for Toorak residents to complete.

Toorak resident, Anna, told the Herald Sun she was “bemused” when she received the note on Thursday.

“It’s designed to make us feel really guilty,” she said.

“We pay our taxes and give to charities, that’s how the system works.”

Anna, whose friend also received the letter, said she felt the group were targeting the wrong country.

“This is not communist China, it’s Australia,” she said.

“They don't know the situation of people.”  

Others took to social media to vent their frustration.

“I reckon most folk work hard for what they’ve got, be it great or small,” one woman said.

“The letter is yuck and has a menacing feel.”

Toorak is widely considered one of Melbourne’s richest suburbs with the average resident taking home $184,939 in 2019-20.

Famous residents include billionaire businessman Lindsay Fox and media mogul Eddie McGuire.

Just last month, a five-bedroom Toorak mansion sold to a mystery buyer for a whopping $10.52m.