60% of Americans Own Stock: That's Still Too Low. Here's the Contrarian Case for Why It Matters.

Key Points Warren Buffett has often suggested that investors buy the S&P 500 index, which basically allows you to benefit from the growth of the U.S. economy. It would be better if every American had the opportunity to benefit from U.S. economic growth. 10 stocks we like better than Vanguard S&P 500 ETF › In 2025, 62% of Americans owned stock, according to Gallup. This is something the pollster has looked at annually for years, with the percentage ranging between 52% and 62% over the last 25 or so years. While it is nice to see that a large portion of Americans have stock exposure, I think that number should be far closer to 100%. Here's why.