This is what opens the door to a candidate like Mamdani, capitalist greed and an unfair tax system. “ Who benefits from stock market gains? Shareholders and investors, of course. Those that have done well are celebrating the market comeback over the past quarter as stock picking continues in earnest for the second half of the year. Everyone is welcome to do their own investment research and join the party, though there has been some renewed discussion over how much wealth is concentrated at the top.

Quote: "I don't think we should have billionaires," said Zohran Mamdani, who just clinched the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City. "Frankly, it is so much money in a moment of such inequality. There has to be a better distribution of wealth." The Big Apple not only houses the New York Stock Exchange (ICE) and Nasdaq (NDAQ) but is also the financial capital of the world, where the top 1% of the city's earners pay nearly half of all of its taxes, according to the NYC Independent Budget Office.

Turning to the stock market, the wealthiest Americans also control a majority of shares. In fact, the top 1% own half of all corporate equities and mutual funds in the U.S., per data from the St. Louis Federal Reserve. When factoring in the top 10% of Americans by wealth, ownership of the group rises to close to 90% of all stock market holdings (see the graphic above). However, this number has not changed meaningfully over time, with the percentage oscillating between 80% and 90% in data that goes back to the end of the 1980s.”