Indeed, & that's one of the things fueling my righteous anger here. Several now very-rich, even 'celebrity' tier investors have mentioned that they simply fake

Indeed, & that's one of the things fueling my righteous anger here. Several now very-rich, even 'celebrity' tier investors have mentioned that they simply faked the accreditation at a crucial early stage. Of course, there's survivorship bias in such stories. But I feel like a sucker for not doing that - and thus losing money in approved things like NASDAQ instead. Or being over-concentrated in my own risky projects – which no SEC rule can protect a person from! – where other private investments would've been usefully uncorrelated. I could've survived a 100% loss in whatever dozen or two startups I might have taken a flyer in – but in fact, they wouldn't have all cratered, and even if they did I'd have had far more insight into investing, and a broader network, than otherwise. Instead, that valuable experience was reserved for the rich, and those willing to lie about their riches. So who is this rule protecting, exactly?