> First, rates are much lower when you’re leveraging 10,000 homes at 3:1
What interest rate do you think rich people are getting?
As for the Covid interest rates, those were available to everyone.
Third, we're talking about buying houses, not renting.
> What interest rate do you think rich people are getting?
Depends how rich. Banks have long been known to offer below market or even zero interest loans to the richer segments in exchange for/in the hope of securing other business from them.