Quoted from rai:This is false. The stock market is not a zero sum game.
Maybe options have winners and losers but not straight up stocks.
Also don’t forget many stocks also pay dividends so even if a stock goes down or flat you can still make money holding.
Most in Academia and who have studied the market would disagree with you. It is zero sum or in actuality, negative sum because of the bid/ask spread and fees.
A decent article
https://www.morningstar.com/articles/841310/is-the-stock-market-a-zero-sum-game