A multi-millionaire real estate tycoon found himself in the hot seat on Sunday after he told millennials to stop spending their money on "smashed avocados" and fancy coffees if they want to own a home someday.
Luxury property developer Tim Gurner said he "wasn’t buying smashed avocado for $19 and four coffees at $4 each” when he was looking to buy his first home.
"We are coming into a new reality where … a lot of people won’t own a house in their lifetime. That is just the reality," Gurner said in an interview with "60 Minutes Australia" on Sunday. “We’re at a point now where the expectations of younger people are very, very high.”
When asked if he thought that young people may never own a home, he said, "Absolutely, when you’re spending $40 a day on smashed avocados and coffees and not working. Of course."
Gurner, who has an estimated net worth of about $460 million, according to the Australian Financial Review, said he owned his first business when he was 19.
He went on to suggest that shows like "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" have fooled young people into thinking that they should be living a lavish lifestyle.
The 35-year-old executive’s comments may have been directed at Australians, but Twitter users from all over seemed to take offense at the comments.
One Twitter user said he “did the math” and concluded he might be able to afford a "bad house" in his neighborhood in about 600 years, if he cut out the fancy toast.
Another user said Gurner had it all wrong and blamed her student loan debt for her inability to afford a home.
A Twitter user from Wisconsin said he’s going after the wrong crowd because the "$22 avocado toast crowd are not the ones who can't afford a property."
Others went on to flag reports that Gurner received a $34,000 loan from his grandfather to kickstart his first real estate project.
"This millionaire guy got $34k from his grandfather to buy his first investment property at age 19. So the real advice is: be wealthy," one person said.
Similarly, another Twitter user said if she could get a "small loan of $34,000 to launch a property empire” she may be able to afford “avocado toast and homes.”
Another person accused Gurner of boasting about building "apartments near cafes for 27-32 year olds" and then attacking "young people for buying $4 coffees.”
This is not the first time that young Australians have been slammed for spending money on the pricey fruit.
In an op-ed published in the Australian last year, Demographer Bernard Salt targeted young people who go to “hipster cafes” and “order smashed avocado with crumbled feta on five-grain toasted bread at $22 a pop” instead of saving up to buy a home. Those comments also sparked outrage.