Being an Accredited Investor (in the US) is 1Mil in net worth not including the value of your primary house. Indeed that seems to exclude most "poor people" I know
Being an Accredited Investor in the US involves stating that on a form. If you badly want to buy these shares, and they're available to buy, then from experience bypassing that is trivial.
The bigger challenge is that most private companies you've heard of won't even consider taking your money unless you can put in a lot more than any poor person would realistically be able to.
The bigger challenge is that most private companies you've heard of won't even consider taking your money unless you can put in a lot more than any poor person would realistically be able to.