See, there are two Americas. One, in which people have their homes foreclosed, and another, in which people get rich by doing so. John Edwards lives in the latter. While he’s not doing photo-ops, pretending to help fix-up homes ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, he’s making money off of foreclosing those homes.

Democratic presidential contender John Edwards has investing ties to subprime lenders who are foreclosing on victims of Katrina, according to a report published Friday.

The Wall Street Journal said there are 34 homes in New Orleans that face foreclosure from the subprime unit of Fortress Investment Group. Edwards has about $16 million in Fortress (Charts), a hedge fund and private equity manager, the newspaper said.

Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina, has been a vocal critic of subprime lenders and told the Journal that he would assist homeowners in New Orleans who face foreclosure from businesses linked to Fortress or who have already lost their homes.

“I intend to help these people,” he told the newspaper. The report also said he would divest any Fortress funds in his portfolio that are invested in subprime lenders that filed the foreclosures. “I will not have my family’s money invested in these firms,” the Journal quoted him as saying.

Rising defaults among subprime mortgages – those home loans given to borrowers with the weakest credit records – has triggered a credit crunch and resulted in a wave of foreclosures.

I assume he’ll be giving away those shares he owns, right? You know, eating up the loss. Of course not. Divesting those parts would be selling $16 million of ownership, for $16 million cash. So, he can keep them or sell them. Either way, he’s making money off of foreclosing the very homes of people he pretends to want to help. Classy.