[EliRivers]

literally every investment would be a Ponzi scheme.

Only the ones that you only expect to turn a dime on by finding a bigger fool to buy it from you. If the investment is something that returns money to you (for example, dividends), you're not expecting to make money by selling it for more. You're expecting to make money because you own a small piece of a business that makes money for its shareholders. I have a number of investments that I expect I will never sell (or at least, am not hoping to sell for more that I paid for it); I'm very happy just being given a nice share of the profits every year.

These investments do not require anyone else to buy in, ever; hardly a Ponzi scheme.

[baddox]

The definition now requires defining what it means to be a "bigger fool."

Many investments do not earn dividends, including ones that are widely considered to not be Ponzi schemes.