You're describing a scene that I have seen in a fairly un-affluent country (namy, Thailand back in the day) that looked fairly affluent (central Bangkok, the place was thriving). There were a lot of beggers, I grant you. But homelessness beggars are famously common in some of the most affluent places in the world, like San Francisco. It is probably more linked to outdoor min & max temperatures than anything else.

You can find relative class status of an area by the number of beggars, I grant you that. But you aren't going to get a bead on the actual affluence of the high-class people. Are they thousandairs or billionairs? All we really know is they aren't beggars.