Source: Tennessee Lookout—
A big economic division between renters and homeowners is apparent when looking at net worth: For homeowners, the median net worth of $231,400 is about 44 times the median net worth of renters, which is $5,200.
Dr. Ken Chilton of Tennessee State University has studied the impact of Real Estate Investment Trusts on the housing market and how they are likely to rob families of the generational wealth created by home ownership. He coined the phrase “equity mining”. For every family that rents from a REIT, $226,200 of family wealth is shifted to investors away from families. This creates a permanent underclass of poor who can become dependent upon the state to help them survive.
;
