[ruined]

stocks literally represent the right to control capital and be paid by others who do work using that capital. it's the most explicit form of "not my labor" in the entire economy and i'm not sure why you expect op to explain that

[vmception]

I said this in another comment, but I think that you think I find this controversial, and I don't. and I keep forgetting that this is the default assumption these days on wealth related topics.

My thoughts are limited to exactly what I said and I am content with this reality that the profits accumulated during their lifetime are counted as self-made, it doesn't say anything about how the first one million or any amount was made, and that wage earners are excluded from playing from math alone.