The IPO Illusion: A Game Rigged for Insiders
I've been watching the latest wave of tech IPOs with a sense of dread, not excitement. Companies like SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI are being valued in the trillions, yet they mostly generate negligible profits and have no realistic path to earnings that justify those valuation numbers. Launching IPOs for these companies is not innovation -- it's a transfer of wealth from the gullible public to insiders who have been waiting years for their exit.
As I have previously reported, the pattern is always the same: insiders take companies public at inflated prices so they can cash out, leaving retail investors holding the bag. Back in 2012, Facebook's IPO was a classic example. The company set its share price at $38, and within months it tanked, while early investors like Accel Partners and Jim Breyer made fortunes. [1] The Wall Street machine relies on what Nomi Prins calls "the corporate mugging of America" -- a system where deception is standard operating procedure. [2] And as Scott Fearon documents in Dead Companies Walking, most IPOs are destined to fail from the start, designed to enrich founders and underwriters while ordinary people are left with worthless paper. [3]
History Repeats: From Railroads to Dot-Coms
Every speculative mania follows the same arc. The railroad boom of the 1800s left countless investors ruined when the lines proved unprofitable. The dot-com bubble of the late 1990s saw companies like Pets.com and Webvan burn through billions before collapsing. In each case, the underlying technology was real, but the hype far exceeded the reality, and those who bought at the peak lost everything.
Today's AI and space hype are no different. In 2017, I warned that insane valuations of Uber, Twitter, and Snapchat proved a catastrophic wake-up call was overdue. [4] Sure enough, many of those companies have never turned a real profit. Electric truck maker Nikola once had a $30 billion valuation -- then its founder was convicted of fraud, and the company filed for bankruptcy. [5] The lesson is clear: when insiders are selling, it's time to run the other way. The financial historian Robert Bryce showed how Enron's collapse was fueled by the same greed and accounting gimmicks that we see in today's tech unicorns. [6]
SpaceX, Mars, and the Moon: Fantasy as Investment Thesis
Now we are asked to believe that SpaceX is worth $1.8 trillion because it will colonize Mars and build moon bases. This is not an investment thesis -- it is science fiction masquerading as due diligence. Basic physics and human biology show that establishing permanent colonies on Mars is impossible for generations, if ever. The near-absence of any atmosphere, the lack of a strong magnetosphere, the toxicity of Martian soil -- none of these problems are solved, yet the valuations assume they will be trivial.
I'm not against space exploration. I believe technology is real and capable. But as I stated recently, the AI bubble is being fueled by cheap debt and fairy-tale projections. [7] The same is true for SpaceX, in my view. The company's true value is a fraction of what the hype suggests. When the music stops, retail investors will be left holding shares in a company that may never deliver on its promises. Just like the electric truck hype that burned Nikola investors, the space hype will end in tears for the new bag holders. [5]
The Real Alternative: Gold, Silver, and Self-Reliance
I sleep well at night knowing that my savings are not tied to the whims of Wall Street insiders. I stack gold and silver and encourage others to do the same. These are the only investments with zero counterparty risk. They cannot be counterfeited by governments, and they have been real money for thousands of years.
As I discussed with Andy Schectman, the U.S. dollar is rapidly eroding, borrowing discretionary funds to fund a trillion-dollar military bill. [8] When the currency collapses, gold and silver will retain their purchasing power while paper assets become worthless.
Financial serial killers like Bernie Madoff preyed on investors who trusted the system. [9] Today's IPO market is just another version of that same scam, dressed up with buzzwords like "AI" and "disruption." Real wealth comes not from paper shares but from land, skills, health, and physical metals. I recommend that everyone diversify into precious metals, learn to grow their own food, and build a decentralized lifestyle independent of the banking system. The globalists are pushing central bank digital currencies to enforce surveillance and control. [10] Don't let them trap you in a system where your assets can be frozen or devalued overnight.
Don't Be the Last Fool: A Call to Opt Out
The fear of missing out -- FOMO -- is the most powerful tool the financial establishment uses to separate you from your savings. Every time a hot IPO hits the news, the media hypes it while insiders quietly sell. The retail investor is the last to buy and the first to lose. I've seen this movie too many times. In the dot-com era, in the housing bubble, in the crypto craze -- the ending is always the same.
I choose to opt out of that game entirely. I hold gold and silver, and I invest in real productive assets like food production and off-grid energy infrastructure. When the next crash comes -- and it will -- those who own physical metals will survive, while those holding overvalued tech stocks will be wiped out. As I said in a recent broadcast, the stock market has become a complete fraud, propped up by government money printing. [11] That's not a market -- it's an intervention. The only honest investment is one that requires no trust in a central authority. That's why I'm buying gold instead. Join me in stepping away from the casino and into true wealth that no one can take from you.
Self-custody is your ultimate defense against market manipulations and bankster fraud. And you can't self-custody IPO stocks.
References
- Facebook 83 million fake accounts feed troll. NaturalNews.com. August 05, 2012.
- Other People's Money: The Corporate Mugging of America. Nomi Prins.
- Dead Companies Walking. Scott Fearon.
- Insane valuations of Uber Twitter and Snapchat prove a catastrophic wake up call is overdue for tech stocks. NaturalNews.com. September 21, 2017.
- From $30 billion to bust: Electric truck maker Nikola files for BANKRUPTCY. NaturalNews.com. Ramon Tomey. February 24, 2025.
- Pipe Dreams: Greed, Ego, and the Death of Enron. Robert Bryce.
- Why I Can’t Wait for the AI Bubble to Crash. NaturalNews.com. June 8, 2026.
- Mike Adams interview with Andy Schectman. May 13, 2025.
- Financial Serial Killers. Tom Ajamie.
- Advice From a Finance Guru: What to Do With Your Money Now. Mercola.com. April 22, 2023.
- The Great Stock Market Illusion: Why I’m Warning You to Stay Away from These Overpriced IPOs. NaturalNews.com. June 5, 2026.
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Mike Adams (aka the "Health Ranger") is the founding editor of NaturalNews.com, a best selling author (#1 best selling science book on Amazon.com called "Food Forensics"), an environmental scientist, a patent holder for a cesium radioactive isotope elimination invention, a multiple award winner for outstanding journalism, a science news publisher and influential commentator on topics ranging from science and medicine to culture and politics.
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