The homestead act is completely irrelevant to this discussion. Stop being a dumbass.
If you want to talk about tangential crap, talk about people who made a fortune by being stupid and subsidized, talk about every Fake Sugar Dick (WARNING, NOT THE REAL SUGAR DICK!) in So Cal who bought a house in 1990 with no expectation of owning anything other than a home, who watched it increase in value by a multiple of 10, who then decided they were a real estate investor and cashed out the equity to buy whatever (bigger house, more house, mercedes, motor cycle, boat), who defaulted on their mortgage in 2008 and then got a hamp mod so they could keep their house and got to keep all the stupid crap they bought.