Mark Skousen, America’s Economist, Sparks Debate in Wall Street Journal Op-Ed 'Share the Wealth, Don’t Redistribute It'
Dr. Mark Skousen, the Professor with many hats.
In his widely circulated op-ed, Skousen argues that wealth comes from ownership, particularly investing in company stock, not from socialist policies.
LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, November 13, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- America’s Economist Dr. Mark Skousen, Presidential Fellow at Chapman University and a leading champion of free-market principles, is receiving national attention for his Wall Street Journal op-ed, “Share the Wealth, Don’t Redistribute It.” The piece became the #1 “Most Popular” article of the day and generated more than 1,000 reader comments. In the op-ed, Skousen argues that the United States is experiencing a profound, market-driven shift that is turning workers into owners and creating historic levels of prosperity, without government redistribution.
“Much of today’s rhetoric focuses on whether corporations pay a ‘living wage,’ yet that debate overlooks a remarkable development,” Skousen writes. “A quiet revolution is underway. Companies are inviting employees to become owners through expanded profit-sharing, enhanced retirement plans, and stock programs. This isn’t redistribution; it’s participation, and it’s enabling ordinary Americans to build real, lasting wealth.”
Skousen highlights new data from Fidelity showing the largest number of 401(k) millionaires in U.S. history, over half a million Americans. He notes that more than half of private-sector workers now actively contribute to employer-sponsored retirement plans, evidence that ownership-based compensation has become deeply rooted across corporate America.
“The number one way Americans become multimillionaires is incredibly simple,” Skousen explains. “Automatic paycheck contributions into company shares and index funds, through retirement plans or employee stock programs.”
To illustrate the trend, Skousen points to a handful of firms known for broad wealth creation. AutoZone has produced thousands of worker-millionaires through stock discounts and 401(k) matching. Microsoft, which offered early stock options to all employees, helped create an estimated 12,000 millionaires by 2005, and tens of thousands more have benefited as the company’s value soared. “Today, more than 30,000 employees—from secretaries to janitors—have already crossed into millionaire status,” Skousen notes.
He also cites Nvidia, which he describes as producing “unprecedented wealth” among its roughly 36,000 employees. A recent report shows that nearly 80% of its workforce are now millionaires, with almost half possessing a net worth exceeding $25 million. “When businesses share success with their people,” Skousen says, “that’s democratic capitalism at work.”
According to the National Center for Employee Ownership, more than 12,000 U.S. companies now offer some form of employee ownership, covering more than 25 million workers. Skousen argues this represents the true alternative to government redistribution. “Profitable firms are the real visionaries,” he writes. “Democratic socialism taxes success; democratic capitalism expands it, growing profits and sharing the rewards so everyone rises together.”
Skousen’s op-ed has sparked enthusiastic praise from across the business and academic communities. Beverly Hills money manager Ken Gergino called it “brilliant and amazing,” adding, “You hit it out of the park. You’re going to be picked up globally by zillions of opinion leaders. You will inspire tens of thousands of entrepreneurs and business leaders, small and large, to share their company’s success with employees. I believe you have started a revolution.”
Roger LeRoy Miller, editor of Economics Today, one of the most widely used economics textbooks in the nation, offered similar acclaim. “It’s one of the best that you’ve written,” he said. “Everyone should read it, particularly Democrats.”
For Skousen, the takeaway is clear: capitalism works best when workers are treated as partners. By expanding ownership, he argues, America’s most successful companies are proving that genuine prosperity grows when employees share directly in the results they help create.
ABOUT MARK SKOUSEN
Dr. Mark Skousen holds the Doti-Spogli Chair of Free Enterprise at Chapman University and serves as Editor-in-Chief of Forecasts & Strategies. Known internationally as “America’s Economist,” he is the author of more than 25 books on economics and finance, including his newest release, The Greatest American: Benjamin Franklin, the World’s Most Versatile Genius. Skousen is widely recognized as a leading authority on free-market economics, entrepreneurship, and wealth creation.
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