Richer Ive gotten, more free stuff I keep getting: Bombay Shaving Company CEO questions how wealth is rewarded

Bombay Shaving Company Founder and Chief Executive Officer Shantanu Deshpande has sparked a conversation on wealth inequality after sharing a video on Instagram reflecting on how financial and social systems appear to reward people who already have access to resources.

Deshpande contrasted this with the challenges faced by less privileged people. Referring to minimum balance requirements, he said, “The poorest, most vulnerable people are charged a minimum account penalty.” He also argued that many people have limited access to financial tools that could help them grow their savings.

Reflecting on the contrast, Deshpande said, “I just feel like the world keeps giving to those few people who have more than enough and keeps taking and keeping poor the thousands and millions of people who have to struggle every day.”

He further said, “I think the reward systems of the world are meant to keep this inequity in play.” Calling it a “very disturbing thought”, Deshpande questioned whether existing systems are structured in a way that perpetuates inequality.

The video drew reactions from users who echoed similar concerns about economic disparities.

One user wrote, “It’s expensive to be poor.”

Another commented, “People don’t send free things to you out of generosity. They do it because somewhere there is a tiny hope of exponential return. The poor don’t get that benefit of doubt because even their gratitude is not monetisable enough. That is the cruelest rule of social economics.”

A third user said, “Markets often compound advantage rather than correcting it. Luck and privilege play a much larger role in success than we like to admit.”

First Published on June 14, 2026, 18:00:02 IST