You didn't understand my point. In case 2, the hypothetical person who has all this money but is hesitant to spend any portion of it on a decent laptop is prob

You didn't understand my point. In case 2, the hypothetical person who has all this money but is hesitant to spend any portion of it on a decent laptop is probably scared of the concept of the "number" in his bank account dropping. This hypothetical person would not invest in stock. If you invest in stock, then you sorta already agree with me. I mean, you are spending your money, and that's my whole point: if you're afraid to spend money then you're not likely to become rich. And in Case 1, the hypothetical person already has a means of generating enough revenue so that he can continue to spend/invest without going broke.