This article is such a slop, that AI could write it.

“Wealth” is the result of the produce of land and labour*. As such, just like stocks going up doesn’t generate wealth on itself, stocks going down doesn’t destroy it either. As such, the crash won’t “destroy” wealth.

What is happening, however, is that the stocks those people bought will be worth as much as Monopoly money. Ultimately the wealth moved hands - from them to whoever issued the shares.

Why this matters: if the wealth was actually destroyed it wouldn’t make sense to look at who got it. If the wealth moved hands, it does. You can and should blame the ones who got it.

*and before someone starts whining “wah, you commies only see errything through Marx”: that’s Adam Smith dammit.