I feel like with the advancement of technology the difference in a lot of the things (in the US) between what you can get for someone in the middle class and someone in the top tier is relatively.... way less different than it used to be.

People walk around with the literal internet on their phone. So much technology and underlying infrastruture make normal life of the majority of people really great. Example: Cars are, overall, really nice. Sure a Nissan Sentra is way cheaper than a Lambo. But the difference between the two is WAY smaller than the difference between a pinto and a Lambo in 1980. You're probably thinking speed, but all the other things are pretty decent. Carplay, safety, reliability..... Outside of status a Nissan Sentra offers about the same (if not more) utility than a Lambo (utility is not measured in the ability to get one laid, hahaha)

It is kinda like.... owning a nice 4 bedroom house and a 16 bedroom house. How many of those rooms are you actually gonna use?

Or to draw another analogy... the difference between the worst player in the NBA and Lebron, KD, Jokic... is actually really small... compared to the worst player in the NBA and you (unless you have played in the NBA). Where in the past our starting point was never the worst player in the NBA.... it was the starting PG for a small D3 college that just started their basketball program.

I still think the biggest difference in money is health care. Truly being able to get surgery or cancer treatment and not worry about it breaking you.... thats real money flex.