U.S. President Donald Trump rang the stock market’s opening bell in the Oval Office this week, an Oval Office first that turned the White House into a stage set for capital’s favorite scoreboard. The event launched “Trump Accounts” at the White House in Washington, while Reuters said Trump has increasingly cast Wall Street’s gains as a measure of his presidency.
The people left outside that scoreboard were named plainly. Roughly four in 10 U.S. households do not have money in the markets, and the wealthiest 1% own more than half of U.S. capital market investments. That’s the split beneath the ceremony. One man at the top gets to ring the bell. Millions at the bottom don’t even own a ticket.
Who Gets Counted
Trump treats record stock prices as proof that his policies are working even as many Americans remain squeezed by high living costs and millions own no stock at all. Reuters said the top 1% hold more than half of U.S. capital market investments. The article also said Trump has pointed to rising equities as validation for policies ranging from his war with Iran to sweeping global tariffs and signature domestic legislation.
That’s the trick. The market rises, and the White House calls it prosperity. The article said Trump routinely cites a rising stock market as a signal of a thriving country, raising the theme during meetings with global leaders, at rallies and at military ceremonies. In June, before awarding three servicemembers the Medal of Honor, Trump said, “The stock market just hit a new all-time high, the 401(k)s are at a new all-time high, and oil is dropping like a rock.”
The ceremony wasn’t just theater. It was policy dressed up as celebration. Republicans’ $4.1 trillion “One Big Beautiful Bill” created government-seeded investment accounts for newborns known as “Trump accounts.” In February, Trump also unveiled plans to match up to $1,000 in 401(k) contributions for workers who enrolled in so-called “Trump IRA” accounts.
Who Benefits From the Setup
Administration officials said Trump’s focus is part of a broader legacy project to increase household participation in capital markets, and they said investors have praised the White House for having a finger on the pulse of the economy. White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement that Trump was “simultaneously focused on ensuring every American has a stake in the successes of America’s next golden age with their own piece of the pie.”
But the article’s numbers show who already has the pie. The U.S. stock market has gained $15 trillion since Trump returned to office, about a 25% increase, and stocks account for roughly a third of household wealth. Those gains are heavily consolidated among the wealthiest Americans, whose assets are dominated by equities, while the bottom half of households is more likely to hold wealth in real estate and durable goods.
Some economists called the split a “K-shaped” economy, where spending by wealthy households props up the market while middle- and low-income households cut back. The article said the U.S. economy is largely on steady footing with healthy growth and low unemployment, but recent inflation, in part caused by the Iran war, has led some consumers to sour on their economic outlook.
The Market as Command Center
Trump’s economic agenda has focused almost exclusively on the growth of businesses as a proxy for household financial health. The article said the administration has cut deals with major companies, including taking an equity stake in Intel, a “golden share” in U.S. Steel, and revenue-sharing agreements with Nvidia and AMD. Trump points to those firms’ successes as signs of a growing economy rather than the effects of nearly unprecedented federal market intervention.
That intervention reaches straight into the balance sheets of corporate titans. It also reaches into Trump’s own accounts. In the first three months of 2026, his investment accounts completed 3,600 stock trades worth between $212 million and $695 million, according to his financial disclosures. Trump said last week, “You know why I’m profiting? Because the stock market’s going up, everybody’s profiting.”
Critics accused Trump of reversing major policy decisions after market declines, including rolling back parts of his trade war after stocks plunged following its announcement. The article said he has also weighed the market when discussing the Iran war, wary of gaining a reputation similar to President Herbert Hoover, who presided over the 1929 stock market crash. At June’s Group of Seven summit, Trump said he noticed that “every time we talked about the possibility of peace, the stock market shot up like a rocket ship.”
Alex Jacquez, chief of policy and advocacy at the liberal think tank Groundwork Collaborative, said, “This is the way that people can get his attention or society can get his attention. Where it’s dangerous is that it only seems to assert itself when corporate or financial interests are at stake.” Jacquez said measuring economic success through the stock market leaves out young people without much equity exposure, as well as women and minority groups who are underrepresented in capital markets. He also said it does not measure the health of small businesses or privately held firms.
Many economists prefer to look at gross domestic product and wage growth to gauge the health of the economy. The article said U.S. GDP grew by 2.1% in 2025 and average hourly wages increased by 3.5%, giving workers a raise but not enough to outpace recent inflation.
Dan Ives, global head of tech research at Wedbush Securities, said, “Having President Trump always focused on the market helps investors sleep well at night. It almost creates some natural guardrails.” The article said happy investors believe the president’s attention will prevent “black swan events,” or surprise, large-scale financial shocks, from rattling markets, while some on Wall Street remain skeptical he can permanently shield markets from downturns.
The bell rang in the Oval Office. The message was clear enough. Wall Street gets the microphone, and everyone else gets told to call that democracy.