Part 6/9:
Fast forward to today, and the stock market has evolved significantly. There are approximately 60,000 publicly traded companies globally, with numerous stock exchanges including the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, and others maintaining their competitive positions. While the foundational principles of trust, ownership, and speculation remain, the complexity has increased. The invention of index funds, particularly by Jack Bogle in the 1970s, popularized the idea that "the market always goes up," fostering a more democratized investing landscape.