-
Donald Trump complained the stock market was enriching the wealthy after touting it while president.
-
President Biden marked this year’s stock rally by poking fun at Trump’s warnings of a crash.
-
Many Americans don’t personally own stocks, and the ultra rich benefit more from market gains.
Donald Trump views a booming stock market as a glorious achievement when he’s in office, but a symbol of mounting wealth inequality when he’s not.
“The stock market is making rich people richer,” the former US president who’s running for reelection next year said during a Nevada rally this week, according to Reuters. Trump frequently crowed about advances in stocks during his presidency but has changed his tune during President Biden’s time in office.
The major stock indices tumbled in 2022 but have rallied strongly this year. The benchmark S&P 500 is up 24% to a near-record level, the tech-heavy Nasdaq has surged 43%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 13% to an all-time high as well.
Biden celebrated the strong performance by posting a campaign ad on X last week. It started with a clip of Trump warning in 2020 that “if Biden wins, you’re gonna have a stock-market collapse the likes of which you’ve never had.” The video then cut to Biden smiling as cable news commentators hailed the stunning rally.
“Good one, Donald,” Biden wrote.
It’s worth noting that many Americans don’t personally own stocks, meaning they only benefit indirectly from market gains, for example if they boost their retirement accounts. Trump certainly isn’t wrong to say that rising stocks enrich the wealthy, either.
The world’s 10 richest people have gained an estimated $470 billion in cumulative net worth this year, lifting their combined fortunes to nearly $1.5 trillion, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Their wealth has soared in large part because they own large stakes in public companies that have seen their stock prices soar this year.
For example, Warren Buffett’s shares of his company, Berkshire Hathaway, make up over 98% of the investor’s $119 billion net worth. Berkshire’s shares have climbed 15% this year, making Buffett $12 billion richer on paper despite his gifting of $5.5 billion of stock to philanthropic causes.
It’s not surprising to see Trump try to disparage the stock market when Biden is actively pointing to it as evidence of his successful presidency. It may not be a surprise either to see Trump return to his previous stance on stocks if he’s reelected.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Source: finance.yahoo.com