Basis is fixed decades earlier; only timing remains

Stevens' shares date to a December 2006 private placement. Rabinowitz's came from founding the company. Neither has a basis decision available any more, and neither has a structuring decision either — only which year, which price, which entity holds it at the moment of realisation. The wealth was created at acquisition; how much survives is decided by timing. This is the mechanic that most reliably separates people who own things early from people who buy them late, and it is invisible in any report that only looks at the sale.