Why wouldn't the super rich be hit the hardest, aren't the majority of there wealth in stocks? Aren't middle class people more likely to keep there wealth in cash(a larger percentage at least), wouldn't they be the winners here?
Imagine if the super rich spend 2% of their assets to hedge risk (options, etc.). The average middle class person has most of their assets tied up in their house, and probably cannot afford to lose 2% of their asset base to protect against downturns. Certainly, there are few easily available hedges for a decline in the residential real estate market in (random town/city) as opposed to the easy ones for wealth held in stocks.