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MeIt was the ice that tipped Shabaz Ali over the edge. He said: “One woman on the Internet spent her whole day writing stories about ‘ice cubes’. “She would freeze flavored water or fruit juice and show the whole process in detail. I said, ‘There’s no reason why he has a good job or is struggling to make ends meet. It pissed me off, so out of curiosity, I made a video saying ‘Today I’m Rich, You’re Poor…’ Soon my TikToks were getting 30m views and thousands of comments. It blew my mind.”
Ali, AKA @ShabazSays, has become a cult celebrity for his derogatory comments about how the other half lives. His scathing takedowns of the “rich and stupid” have earned him over 4 million followers. Now he is transferring his viral popularity to our TV screens.
It all started when former chemistry teacher Ali, 32, went to his room in Blackburn during closing time and laughed and mocked the lucky ones. Among his mixed groups were those who were humble about their perfect lives and woo-woo habits. Tongue firmly in cheek, he called himself the “King of the Povvos” and the leader of the “#PovvoGang”.
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He said: “It was revenge. I grew up in the working class and heard the word ‘povvo’ a lot.
The disconnect between influencers and their audience is increasing. “She posts about Bentleys and private jets. What are you making of this? (US socialite) Becca Bloom worries me. Millions of people see her cats eating £20,000 plates. She has a £100k Louis Vuitton bag full of Hermès bags. Yet her followers think she’s her friend.”
On Ali’s Internet, controversial words were starting: “People put me in many videos every day, showing the riches without ears.” They call it “shifting” which helps to move the dial on different levels. “There’s been a lot of change in the last few years,” says Ali. “The era of the Kardashian is over. We don’t want airbrushed reality anymore. We want it raw, authentic and unfiltered.”
In today’s scrolling world, aspirational figures fill the space. “As a teacher, I saw how social media can change the way young people think about the world.” Entrepreneurs, businesswomen and Andrew Tate provide something missing in their lives. The trick of working hard and getting your reward is broken. his GCSEs.’ I was like, ‘It’s one person!’ There are 3,400 billionaires in the world which is 8.3 billion. It’s a lot of disappointed people.”
Amidst the cost crisis, his films provided a reality check. “I used to tell my students, ‘This stuff on the Internet isn’t right. It’s not real. That’s why I started taking the mickey.’
His BBC documentary, Shabaz Asks: Are Billionaires Bad?, finds Ali exploring the world of wealth and how it affects the world. With his knowledge of sports, he questions whether the super rich are a sign of a broken culture or can be a force for good.
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Saving money gives him the “ick”. He said: “What angers me the most is that the gap is widening. “We are getting more billionaires, who are getting more tax breaks and more ways to get wealth. I think 90 percent of them don’t care.
Wanting to understand more, he tries to meet the billionaire in person. He is approaching the Kardashians, Beckhams, Trumps, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Beyoncé for interviews. “Kim K actually saw my message. But she didn’t reply.
Instead he meets a number of philanthropists and anti-billionaires. This includes Zack Polanski of the Green Party. “He is the only one in the political class who talks about billions,” says Ali. “Everyone is too busy trying to protect their supporters. Many of his objections were heard. I’m a lifelong Labor voter but would I vote Green now? Maybe.”
He spends time with the successful student turned “eight businessman” Joseph Valente (“a fascinating man but he uses hair dye”). He flies to the Colorado ski resort of Vail to stay with 4U Phones founder John Caudwell. “I hate billionaires but I love John, which was difficult,” admits Ali. “I just think he doesn’t know about his power and his opportunities. He told me, ‘You can’t whisper in the government’s ear. I had a meeting with Keir Starmer and he didn’t listen to my advice.’ The fact that he even said that sentence! You entered that room for money. The Prime Minister may not have listened to your advice but there is someone whose advice he followed. I admire John’s kindness but we still don’t really get along. Your rich friends are still stupid, my friend!
Ali takes the opportunity to wander inside Caudwell’s kitchen, hoping to find one of the “stored” refrigerators that she teases on the Internet. “I thought I was going to live an online life with everything neat and tidy, but it was like a normal person’s fridge. It was uglier than mine!” Did making this film challenge Ali’s ideas? “It didn’t change my beliefs, it strengthened them. I still think we don’t need billions and they should have done a lot for all of us.”
They are told that if we make billionaires pay more tax, they will leave the UK and take their wealth. “Let them go!” He says. “Let’s look at the top of the mountain and see if the grass is greener, it’s a threat. They’re not going anywhere. They’ve benefited too much from this country and have too much stake here to suddenly leave. Tax them, I say. Diamond taxes. Tax boats.” He laughs. “If they don’t pay, move them all to the Isle of Wight and turn them into a huge prison for rich people.”
The first post of this future star ends with a shameless appeal of the entire series. He said: “We have already started talking about the next film. “Skincare, cosmetics and plastic surgery is the path I want to go down. Shabaz asks: Can I turn back time? That is the question I want to answer. Watch this.”
At this point, he believes people are nearing a tipping point. “I think we’re on the brink of something big,” Ali says with excitement in his eyes. “People are sick of economic inequality. We are in the time of the French Revolution, we are ready to overthrow Marie Antoinette.”
