Dividends: Silent Earners

Some stocks pay you just for owning them. These payments are called dividends — a share of the company's profits sent to shareholders, usually quarterly. Reinvesting them is one of the most underrated wealth-building moves there is. A $10,000 stake in the S&P 500 in 1990 would have grown to roughly $170,000 by 2024 on price alone — but with dividends reinvested, more than $300,000. Same starting money, very different ending.