"amassing extraordinary wealth".
In what? Stock?
The problem Enron employees ran into was they invested heavily in Enron's stock, which was tied to enron's business.
This is the same problem American's have. They are over invested in American stock, which is tied to American business.
Do no confuse holdings with wealth.
Any investor anywhere, that puts all his eggs in one basket has a problem. Your comment is so broad as to be essentially meaningless.
Americans hold $6.1 trillion in corporate equities and $4.1 trillion in mutual funds. Out of $51 trillion in household net worth. Doesn't sound like too much.
This may be where we're going wrong-- definitions. If we're using the same language then we're working together instead of quarrelling. Let's agree on definitions. I found some standard definitions at U Mich:
| Wealth | The total value of the accumulated assets owned by an individual, household, community, or country. | ||
| Asset | An item of property, such as land, capital, money, a share in ownership, or a claim on others for future payment, such as a bond or a bank deposit. | ||
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1. The plant and equipment used in production. 2. One of the main primary factors, the availability of which contributes to the productivity of labor, comparative advantage, and the pattern of international trade. 3. A stock of financial assets. |
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| Bond | A debt instrument, issued by a borrower and promising a specified stream of payments to the purchaser, usually regular interest payments plus a final repayment of principal. Bonds are exchanged on open markets including, in the absence of capital controls, internationally, providing a mechanism for international capital mobility. |
We don't have to use these definitions -- if you want we can go off to stuff like "true wealth is the spiritual" or something. I'm happy either way. Your call.