BETHLEHEM, Pa.— A new documentary with ties to the Lehigh Valley is challenging the potential for the American dream as some struggle with everyday necessities while others live in multi-million-dollar homes.
“The $238 Million Apartment” is produced by Richard Master, founder and CEO of MCS Industries Inc. in Palmer Township.
The film tackles the societal implications of the country’s escalating wealth disparity. It will premiere Tuesday at Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks.
The private event will also serve as a fundraiser for the Lehigh Valley justice Institute at United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley.
Written and directed by Toby Hubner, an American who lives in Paris, the film has numerous Lehigh Valley connections.
It features graphics and animation from Easton’s Maciek Albrecht, sound engineering by Jim McGee at SpectreSound studio in Quakertown, and music from several Lehigh Valley musicians (including Master on trumpet).
"We are the most successful, largest economy in the world, but for one reason or another, we choose to take this other path.”Richard Master, producer of "The $238 Million Apartment"
Master previously produced and promoted a four-film series investigating health care issues in the United States.
When Hubner found a New York Times article detailing an extravagant penthouse on Manhattan’s Billionaires’ Row, he was compelled to explore the dramatic wealth inequality across the nation, according to a news release.
Hubner himself serves as the central character of the story. He reflects upon his upbringing in the 1970s as the son of an upper-class IBM executive living in a world of posh vacations, prep school, an Ivy League college, and a plethora of career pathways.
His own observations contrast with the limited experiences and opportunities afforded to everyday Americans, who live in a world plagued by cyclical poverty for tens of millions while a select few obtain – or maintain – extreme wealth.
'The black stinking cash hole'
According to publicity for the film, the gap in the U.S. between the ultra-wealthy and everyone else has grown substantially. In 1990 the top 1% owned 22.5% of the wealth. In 2025, it’s up to 40%, while the bottom 80% possess only 7%.
In the film, Hubner’s quest leads him to Palm Beach, Florida, where he sees people relying on food pantries just blocks away from the sprawling estates of billionaires.
He travels to his childhood home in Darien, Connecticut, where property values have skyrocketed.
He returns to his modest one-time rental home in Staten Island, where he and his Ivy League classmates embraced a life of creative pursuits rather than climb the “meritocracy ladder,” while finding sanctuary and questioning what “success” really meant.
Hubner shares perspectives from friends and juxtaposes them with commentary from some of the nation’s leading economic voices about how a system structured to benefit the wealthy will inevitably lead to societal decline.
“I tossed my lunch when I read the New York Times article about the apartment,” said Hubner, who with Master is expected to attend the premiere.
“The vulgarity, the loss of decency, the buying into the materialism that is driving American culture into the wall. So, the road trip began and led us right into the black stinking cash hole we must climb out of to save the American dream.”
Master said the past 40 years have witnessed the decline of the American dream, and Hubner’s film serves as an important warning for the future of the nation.
“'It is a warning shot across the bow, posing important questions of American society’s values,” Master said.
Proceeds from the premiere will benefit the LVJI, which in late July became part of the United Way. The LVJI was formed to develop and promote a reimagined criminal justice system that is equitable and fair for all communities through a data-driven approach.
LVJI Executive Director Joe Welsh said criminal justice cannot be viewed only in the abstract.
“We need to talk about social justice determinants and drivers," Welsh said in a news release. "We’ve done studies on mental health in schools and the school-to-prison pipeline. Housing issues. Police use of force. Cash bail and the biases in it. Each one of these comes back to the gross financial injustice present in this country.”
“Even though our work is focused on criminal justice, social justice issues feed into it. Poverty is a big part of it. There’s a cavernous wealth gap and that’s what this film exposes.”
'We can fix it'
Locally, as more and more luxury apartment complexes spring up across the Lehigh Valley, simply finding an affordable place to live can be an arduous task, according to Master.
Despite the severity of the wealth inequality issue, Master said, there is hope.
“About a third of our residents in the Lehigh Valley are living in rental units. A number of them, a great number of them, want to but can't afford to buy houses,” Master said in an interview.
He said starting points for a decent home in the area run around $400,000 or more.
“So there are very few options for that, and that's continuing to grow, but we can fix it through tax policy," he said. "It's certainly fixable. We can afford significant improvements in our social safety net. And you know, it's all payable. We are the most successful, largest economy in the world, but for one reason or another, we choose to take this other path.”
Master points to American hedge fund manager Ray Dalio — who appears in the film — as one person in power bringing light to “this high level of debt and the social arrest that comes from the inequality in wealth and income that only result in a highly regressive government of authoritarianism to keep down the social arrest … or civil war.”
And while the individual who purchased the expensive apartment isn’t a villain in any sense – Master said they serve largely as a metaphor – the message of just a few people owning most of the country’s wealth showcases the opulence of that class and also shines a light on those just struggling to get by.
"But the cutting of Medicaid and I think cutting these budgets are going to be a real concern in the Lehigh Valley.”Richard Master, producer of "The $238 Million Apartment"
It’s a point Master says will likely hit home with viewers in the Lehigh Valley in particular, especially in terms of obtaining basic health care while living in a world where that can be inaccessible.
“We need to have programs, stimulation by the government to make housing affordable," Master said. "We're cutting nutrition programs we're worried about in the in the Lehigh Valley, the community health centers, which are part of Health and Human Services – you know, the department that DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency) has gutted.”
“As far as staff levels, we still have a $12.5 billion dollar budget that's going to the 14,000 community health centers that are federally established. I think we have, like 14 centers (around here).
"There are 15,000 service points, and they're providing, in some cases, free or substantially reduced care for 31 million Americans. You know, a number of people in the Lehigh Valley — young people, pregnant and young women with children — are threatened to not get the primary care they're offering now. But the cutting of Medicaid and I think cutting these budgets are going to be a real concern in the Lehigh Valley.”
Master is a former civil rights lawyer who operated a Washington law firm and returned home to run his family's manufacturing business.
He founded MCS Industries, which makes picture frames and other home decor. Its headquarters is on Newlins Mill Road in Palmer Township.
Other films Master has bankrolled have focused on health care policy, advocating for single payer health care and spotlighting the power of Big Pharma.
“The $238 Million Apartment” is available for streaming via video on demand services, including Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, and Vimeo on Demand. Rental or purchase prices vary by platform.
