Businessman blasted for revealing 'ranking' system for his friends: '[This] made me so angry'

Most people probably remember the dreaded Myspace Top 8 — a friend-ranking system (and untententional popularity contest) that was surely the inciting factor for a lot of fights and tension within certain cliques. But what if you had your friends ranked by wealth?

TikTok user @tcruznc, whose name is Tom Cruz (seriously), is the mastermind behind the original “Forbes Friends List” post, in which he openly orders his friends based on how much money they make.

Though the original post seems to be deleted, a re-uploaded version is going viral on Twitter with the caption, “What in the wealth is this.”

What in the wealth is this pic.twitter.com/NTPTKT5CZG

— Karim Alammuri (@Radio_Reem) August 18, 2021

“So a few years ago, me and my friends started making a spreadsheet breaking down our incomes and availability for travel,” he said, before calling the practice “incredibly helpful.”

The sheet ranks each of his 18 friends in order of income, starting with “Shawn,” who expects to make roughly $5 million this year, and ending with “Broke Bobby,” who expects to make $125,000.

The spreadsheet also indicates how much available paid time off (PTO) they each have, expected bonuses, how much they are willing to spend per day on a 3-day trip or a 7-day trip, marital status, whether they would travel to a “third world destination,” whether or not they are a “degenerate gambler” and so on.

“We all hang out regardless of income,” Cruz wrote. “But certain trips, some friends can’t make it. And that’s OK.”

The spreadsheet indicates some friends are already “tapped out” for further travel in 2021, while another note mysteriously states that one friend is “70% single.” Naturally, Twitter users had a lot to say in response to the viral post.

Everybody talking about Broke Bobby, nobody talking about how Chris K. is 70% single pic.twitter.com/KpirkijhXS

— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) August 19, 2021

“This s*** made me so angry,” one user wrote.

“Broke bob pulling in $125,000 and still being considered broke is what’s getting me,” another said.

The controversy doesn’t stop there, though. Cruz shared a TikTok post explaining the “bottom 10” income earners in his friend group, who call themselves the “Welfare 10.” They didn’t even make the first spreadsheet.

With names like “Handsome Rob,” “Dooky Shoes” and “Ramen Ryan,” you’d be correct to assume the backlash against this post has been profound as well.

Questions about Cruz’s line of work have also come up multiple times on TikTok, and sometimes, he responds to them. His TikTok bio claims he owns more than 380 properties, and his website indicates that he buys section 8, low-income housing and rents it out, operating as a landlord.

“He made over a million dollars buying up low-income housing in the middle of a housing shortage,” one critic said, openly angry about this accusation. “Tell the internet how amazing it is that you were paid over a million dollars for almost no labor.”

Cruz stitched the video, smiling, and said, “Thank you for that rant. I swear to god, these make for the best marketing material.”

In the comments of multiple posts, Cruz has said that his friend-ranking lists and other controversial posts are not satire. Many questions still remain, though: Why do some friends have nicknames, but others don’t? Did they consent to being featured in this now-viral post? Who has that many friends after college and what’s the secret?

Cruz did not respond to In The Know’s request for comment.

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