You're not making as much as the tremendously wealthy; your equities likely represent a tiny fraction of your income. If your equities are going up 10% a year

You're not making as much as the tremendously wealthy; your equities likely represent a tiny fraction of your income. If your equities are going up 10% a year but you only have $20k in the market, but make $100k in salary, and your salary growth is falling behind the cost of living, you're not doing well, particularly compared to the person with $100M in the market and not going to work for a living.