Dan, you've hit the nail on the head - investing is necessary for everyone because the old standard of savings accounts no longer gives nearly the returned needed for good compounding growth - the only thing that does for sustained decades-long periods is the stock market. Not homes. Not gold. Not crypto. Only stocks. But one of the reasons many companies are so successful is the Darwinian, hyper-competitive, win-at-all-costs, Type-A and sociopathic personalities that tend to gravitate to those leadership corporate positions. Not everyone, but many or most.

So it is complicated... It is necessary but unpleasant.

Good luck out there!

SD