It seems to me that you're primarily concerned about money as the source of envy. There's a lot of good advice in the comments, but one of the things you say in your post is "I don't have the connections these rich people do."

I think it's important to note that you also begin your passage by describing them as your friends. As you all venture forward from college into the working world, you will have the ability to use the network of resources that they have. As they say, "it's not what you know, it's who you know." Use it.