This week began with Donald Trump ringing the opening bells of both the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ. Sort of.

Flanked by small children, some of whom were visibly confused, Trump rang a golden replica chime placed atop the Resolute Desk. A group of adults assembled to indulge a manchild’s vanity clapped dutifully.

The Oval Office event marked the official launch of so-called “Trump Accounts,” tax-advantaged investment vehicles seeded by one-off, $1,000 contributions from the US Treasury. All American children born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028, are eligible.

It’s not the worst idea Trump’s ever had, I’ll give him that, although the personalized branding makes it clear who this is really about — namely Trump, not the kids.

Because no Trump administration event would be complete without flagrant crony capitalism, Trump plugged Dell computers during his remarks. “Go out and buy a Dell,” he said. The stock rose sharply. By the time the closing bell sounded, Michael Dell and his wife, Susan, recouped the entirety of their charitable donation to the initiative. On paper at least.

Specifically, the Dell family pledged $6.25 billion in $250 “Trump Account” deposits for qualifying children in underserved ZIP codes. Dell’s on-paper net worth rose by $7 billion after Trump’s product endorsement. The stock was up more than 14% for the week through Friday morning, pushing Dell’s personal net worth higher by more than $20 billion over just four days.

True to form, Trump was open about his intentions. “We’re going to get him that money back one way or the other,” he said, of Dell’s contributions to the accounts. “And then I’ll ask for another $6 billion.” I hesitate the use the word “forthcoming,” but… well, as Dave Chappelle famously put it, Trump’s “an honest liar.”

Scott Bessent’s pretty proud of the program. “Our president is creating an ownership economy where all citizens become shareholders,” he declared. “This will be one of the president’s most enduring legacies.” Add it to the list: Two impeachments, one armed insurrection, war with Iran, “Trump Accounts.” And he’s still got two years left on this term. That’s more than enough time to add another couple of “enduring legacies.”

Anyway, as Reuters’ Jacob Bogage was keen to remind voters in a decent Friday piece, stock ownership in America’s so heavily skewed towards the well-off that the situation’s more or less hopeless if the goal really is to create a more egalitarian wealth distribution.

The figure below shows you an updated version of a familiar chart. Although the share of overall corporate equities held by the richest Americans has indeed come down since peaking near 52.5% in 2019, it’s up nearly 7.5ppt over the long run.

You’ve probably run across charts purporting to show a sharp increase in equity ownership among the bottom 50% of American households. The problem with those visuals is simple: By isolating that cohort, the charts are (purposefully in some cases) devoid of context.

Here’s the in-context reality: Even after doubling since early 2020, the share of shares, so to speak, held by the poorest Americans is just 1.1%. That’s the green area in the chart you can barely see even if you squint.

And, just as important for the domestic political discussion, the share held by the middle class remains near an all-time low and is down more than 5.5ppt since the unofficial inauguration of shareholder capitalism in the late 1980s.

None of that’s to say “Trump Accounts” aren’t a good idea. As Trump ideas go, they’re a veritable epiphany.

But when Trump says, as he did last week while remarking on the financial windfall he and his family have enjoyed since he returned to office, that “everybody’s profiting because the stock market’s going up,” that simply isn’t true.

Unless of course the only people worth counting in the definition of “everybody” are households whose financial circumstances rank them 90%ile or higher.