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Financial News
Sep 24, 2026, 8:20 PMInvesting

400 Richest Americans Trailed an S&P 500 Index Fund

MarketWatch says the 400 richest Americans would have done better over 12 months in an S&P 500 index fund, highlighting elusive outperformance for investors.

A jewel-laden golden racehorse falls behind a plain mechanical horse, symbolizing wealthy investors trailing the index.
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Summary

MarketWatch reported on September 24, 2026, that the 400 richest Americans collectively would have performed better during the previous 12 months by placing their net worth in an S&P 500 index fund.

Only the feed summary was available. It provided no return figures, individual names, methodology, specific index fund, or explanation of how changes in net worth were calculated, limiting assessment beyond the stated comparison.

Positives

  • An S&P 500 index fund would have outperformed the collective net worth results of the 400 richest Americans over the measured 12 months.
  • The comparison uses a defined benchmark, the S&P 500, rather than an unspecified measure of market performance.
  • The reported result covers 400 wealthy Americans collectively, rather than relying on one individual outcome.

Risks & concerns

  • The 400 richest Americans collectively lagged the hypothetical S&P 500 index fund outcome over the previous 12 months.
  • The 12-month comparison alone does not establish performance across longer market cycles.
  • The feed omitted return percentages, methodology, individual results, the chosen index fund, and treatment of net worth changes.
Primary sourceMarketWatch.com - Top Storieshttps://www.marketwatch.com/story/stop-trying-to-beat-the-market-even-the-richest-americans-cant-do-it-consistently-4560e275?mod=mw_rss_topstories
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Editorial note: Financial News summarizes and analyzes third-party reporting and public filings. The source link is the authoritative document. This page does not reproduce the full source text and is not investment advice.

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