So you can live off it without dwindling your shares. For example, suppose Warren Buffett owns 5% of Apple and he needs money now. Maybe 4% of Apple tomorrow will be worth more than 5% of Apple today, and he could get richer in dollars despite selling, but he's simply not interested because then he would only own 4% of Apple and not 5%. So he takes is $0.20 or $0.80 dividend instead and is happy.
So you can live off it without dwindling your shares. For example, suppose Warren Buffett owns 5% of Apple and he needs money now. Maybe 4% of Apple tomorrow will be worth more than 5% of Apple today, and he could get richer in dollars despite selling, but he's simply not interested because then he would only own 4% of Apple and not 5%. So he takes is $0.20 or $0.80 dividend instead and is happy.
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