{"id":725006,"date":"2026-06-09T11:12:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T11:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/725006\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T11:12:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T11:12:18","slug":"seven-time-f1-world-champion-lewis-hamilton-facing-backlash-over-anti-billionaire-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/725006\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton facing backlash over anti-billionaire comments"},"content":{"rendered":"

British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton may be having a strong 2026 World Championship, especially after coming second in last weekend\u2019s Monaco Grand Prix, but he\u2019s finding himself at the heart of a heated debate.<\/p>\n

Do celebrities just say the right thing and then do the opposite, thereby highlighting how out of touch they truly are?<\/p>\n

A three-year-old interview has resurfaced online, which has prompted fresh conversation about society\u2019s wealth gap, inequality, and for some, tone-deaf hypocrisy.<\/p>\n

“One of the things that I struggle with every day, and it’s just how life is – it’s been that way for thousands of years – that there is such a disparity between the wealthy and the poor”, the seven-time F1 world champion told Jay Shetty on his ‘On Purpose’ podcast in 2023.<\/p>\n

“When you drive around LA there’s still so many people living on the streets. You shouldn’t be able to have billions”, the driver noted. “I think there should be a limit to how much you can have because there’s enough to go around for everyone.”<\/p>\n

The clip has been widely shared over social media, with users contrasting the comments with Hamilton\u2019s own fortune. His net worth is thought to be roughly $581 million.<\/p>\n

Not helping is the fact that Hamilton is currently dating Kim Kardashian, who was present in Monaco last Sunday. The couple were seen kissing and celebrating together, with Hamilton praising her presence as \u201camazing\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, Kardashian had already rubbed fans up the wrong way for her behaviour in Monaco. She was approached by Sky Sports F1 reporter Martin Bundle, who attempted to speak to her before the race. She snubbed him, leading fans to question her tact.<\/p>\n

\u201cKim Kardashian is not too good to talk to Martin Brundle. What a complete lack of class,\u201d wrote one X user.<\/p>\n

\"Kim<\/p>\n

Kim Kardashian in Monaco – 7 June 2026 – AP Photo <\/p>\n

According to Celebrity Net Worth<\/a> estimates, Kardashian\u2019s fortune stands at around $2 billion, making her one of the wealthiest celebrities in the world.<\/p>\n

Coupled with Hamilton’s resurfaced interview, fans reacted strongly, with many questioning his credibility on matters of wealth and inequality.<\/p>\n

While the driver does have his own charity \u2013 Mission 44, aimed at \u201cdriving change so that every young person can thrive in school\u201d – some have called him out for being a hypocrite given his and Kardashian\u2019s combined net worth. Others were quick to point out his Monaco residency…<\/p>\n

\u201cDude is worth $500m+ and lives in Monaco to avoid ever paying a penny in tax,\u201d wrote one user. Another said: \u201cBe the change you want to see and give all of the boundless excess of cash you and your girlfriend have away and we\u2019ll go next.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s dating a woman who lives in LA and is worth $2 billion. He is worth $500 million. He has zero awareness of how out of touch he sounds,\u201d said another, while one added: “He’s literally dating who he’s talking about.”<\/p>\n

Check out some of the reactions below:<\/p>\n

“Preaching there\u2019s enough to go around for everyone while living this lavishly rings hollow,” wrote one X user. “Wealth is fine, just spare us the lectures.”<\/p>\n

Formula 1 Round 7 Barcelona-Catalunya takes place on 14 June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton may be having a strong 2026 World Championship, especially after coming second…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":725007,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,33584,823,22298,41683,85],"class_list":["post-725006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-kim-kardashian","tag-lewis-hamilton","tag-martin-brundle","tag-monaco-grand-prix","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=725006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/725007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=725006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=725006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=725006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}