<prompt> Human: Just been reading about how a lady called Anne Scheiber accumulated an enormous wealth. Im uncertain how she actually earned this money. So she starts by buying 5k worth of stocks but unsure how this turned into millions. As far as I can see the value of the shares has increased as the business improved. Fair enough. But its still the same amount of shares?? I appreciate she had stock splits but Im not sure how I could get wealthy by investing 5k or 10k and leaving it for 30 years. As far as I see it; its still 5k but worth a bit more??Sorry if this is a silly question but I dont understand it.ThanksSource:  <response>: Short answer: shares give you a claim on a piece of the businesss profits. As businesses grow their profits over time, shares become more valuable. Also, many shareholders reinvest their dividends buying more shares, which results in additional compounded growth. 