> if I already have a profitable mine, I doubt I'd have much incentive to invite others to share ownership of that mine "Profit" isn't binary, it's an amount o

> if I already have a profitable mine, I doubt I'd have much incentive to invite others to share ownership of that mine "Profit" isn't binary, it's an amount of capital that may or may not be enough to invest in things that are likely to increase your profits even more. If you need extra capital to increase your profits, would you as the owner rather wait 20 years and pay for the investments yourself, or share the profits right now and take less risk? Shares aren't a scam, it's just a pitch for investing. It's a risk/reward presentation that investors can choose to buy if they want. When companies issue shares they're saying "we could use some more money, have a look at our business and if it makes sense, buy some". There's nothing remotely dubious about it, and there are many legitimate situations where a company requires more capital despite being profitable.