The U.S. stock market has been one of the greatest engines of wealth creation in human history. From 1926 to 2025, it generated nearly $91 trillion in shareholder wealth. Most stocks are not wealth creators – they are wealth destroyers.
Only 48% of stocks deliver positive returns over their lifetime.
Just 41% outperformed Treasury bills.
Only 27.6% outperformed the market itself.
— Cern Basher (@CernBasher) April 13, 2026
Out of 29,754 stocks studied over the past century, just:
1,082 stocks (3.6%) created 100% of net wealth.
The remaining 96.4% of stocks collectively matched Treasury bills.
The top long-term performers generated annual returns in the range of 12% to 16% – not dramatically higher than the market.
The Market Is Becoming More Concentrated
If this dynamic sounds extreme, it is becoming even more so.
In earlier research covering 1926–2016:
89 companies accounted for half of all wealth creation.
With updated data through 2025:
Just 46 companies now account for half of all wealth.
Even more telling, from 2017 to 2025:
The top 30 companies generated over 60% of all wealth created.
Winner Take Most
Markets are increasingly driven by:
Scale advantages
Technology platforms
Network effects
Possibly artificial intelligence
Rethinking Risk
Traditional finance defines risk as volatility – the ups and downs of stock prices.
The real risk is not volatility. It is missing the outperforming outliers.
Failing to identify at least some winners is big problem.
The majority of wealth creation from 2017–2025, a clear pattern emerges:
Nvidia
Apple
Microsoft
Alphabet
Amazon
Broadcom
Tesla
Meta
Oracle
Palantir
Micron
Netflix
Visa & Mastercard
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.
