Toorak homeowners accused of being ‘too rich’, asked to give away assets amid cost of living crisis

Residents at an affluent Australian suburb woke up to a shock to find a strange note asking for all their properties and cars, for free.

Residents in an affluent Australian suburb woke up to find a strange note left in their mailboxes demanding they give away all their properties for free.

Last month, residents in the exclusive Melbourne suburb of Toorak opened their doors to find a double-sided sheet of paper accusing them of being “too rich” and harming others as a result.

The note, posted by an organisation called ‘Your Concerned Friends’, said bluntly “You are too rich”.

They called on the homeowners to “give” away their homes and extra cars as the cost of living crisis continues to exacerbate the gap between Australia’s wealthiest and most vulnerable.

“Step 1: Give any investment properties you own to the people currently renting them,” the note reads.

“Step 2: Give any holiday houses you own to long-term renters.

“Step 3: If your household has more cars than licensed drivers, give away the extra cars.”

Jeff Yew, CEO of crypto company Monochrome Asset Management, said the notes were odd.

“The proposals are a little bit wild,” he told news.com.au. “There is also a level of ‘this can’t be real’.”

Mr Yew said he knows a lot of high net worth individuals through his work and that a friend, based in Toorak, had sent him photos of the bizarre letter. The chief executive himself is based in Brisbane.

Local Toorak residents are reportedly concerned as the message made reference to violence.

Toorak homeowners woke up to find this in their mailbox.

The note said these homeowners were increasing inequality.

“History teaches us that wealth inequality breeds resentment and anger among people who are not wealthy,” the note reads.

“If we reach a point where those feelings 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 and the responsibility to fix it.

“You can do this by giving away a substantial portion of your wealth.”

They called on homeowners to follow their suggestions because it is “the right thing for you to do”.

They said anyone who lived in the affluent suburb “didn’t need” multiple cars and properties, and they could gift them to people who truly did need them.

“Don’t worry. You’ll still be able to live a comfortable life with a lot less than you have at present,” the sender added.

The note pointed out that millions of people are struggling to keep a roof over their head and pay for simple things like energy bills or healthy groceries.

“They don’t have enough because you and others like you have too much,” it added.

News.com.au contacted the sender of the notes for comment.

It comes as Australia’s central bank hiked interest rates again on Tuesday, for the 12th time in 14 months, in a sign of more pain coming for homeowners and renters.

Inflation is sitting at 6.8 per cent while wage growth is falling further behind.

The latest figure from SQM Research found that the national rental vacancy rate sits at 1.2 per cent in April, the tightest it’s been in years.

There are reports of some having to resort to living in tents, cars or improvised homes as they unable to find a place to live while the wealth gap has doubled since 2021, with the rich essentially getting richer, according to a report from earlier this month.

The senders of the letters have their own website.

People sleeping in cars and tents in Enmore Park, Sydney. Picture: John Grainger

“In our business we deal with a lot of high net worth individuals. Toorak is a particularly wealthy neighbourhood, I would draw that assumption” as to why they posted the letters there, Mr Yew said.

“It’s a very direct way to appear threatening the rich.”

Data from property analysis firm shows the median house price in Toorak is $5.19 million.

Melbourne’s inner city suburb of Toorak is one of the richest in the nation.

It holds the record for the second most expensive property sale in Australia’s history.

A run-down 10-bedroom mansion was snapped up by crypto kingpin Edward Craven in August last year for $80 million, setting a new state record, and coming second in the country.

Mr Craven owns another property in Toorak which had a $38 million price tag.

Chemist Warehouse boss Sam Gance bought a house in Toorak in 2021 for $43 million.

Before that, tech entrepreneur Kogan.com founder Ruslan Kogan held the previous record of $38.8 million.