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In the last 30 years, the number of public companies has been cut in half
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In the last 30 years, the number of public companies has been cut in half. The situation has gotten so bad that the Wilshire 5000 index, founded in 1974 to track the broadest portfolio of all US publicly traded stocks, now listsonly about 3700 stocks! In my latest piece in
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Hacker News · twitter.com
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Based on 5 sampled comments from this thread. Analyzed 2026-04-16.
- Praise: The rise of private funding, exemplified by OpenAI's recent $122 billion raise, shows that startups can thrive without going public, which could lead to more innovation.
- Praise: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act introduced necessary regulations that, while increasing costs, ultimately aim to protect investors and enhance corporate accountability.
- Concern: The consolidation of companies into a few major players raises concerns about monopolistic practices, limiting competition and innovation in various industries.
- Concern: There seems to be little incentive for companies to go public, which could stifle transparency and accountability in the corporate sector.