The stock market, by itself, is not a wealth creator. Wealth is created in and by the economy, of which the stock market is an nearsighted observer and a wealth (re-)distributor. Any wealth created solely by the stock markets (e.g. in and by bubbles, speculation, manipulation, margin puts/calls, etc) is correspondingly destroyed when irrational behavior exausts itself, as it always does. We are fooled into thinking the stock market creates wealth because, often enough, the person who profits from such wealth creation is not always the person who suffers from the corresponding wealth destruction...

My friend, Heisenberg, (NOT the Breaking Bad character...) will tell you that observation has its own affects and perils, and so it does, but that still doesn't put the stock market anywhere near the creation of actual wealth.