Some are in it just for the money, others to help buy a meal. Then there are those who trade for fun or to spend time among friends. Millions of investors – pensioners, security guards, high-school students – dominate China's stock markets, conducting about 80 percent of all trades. Retirees gather in brokerage houses dotted around China also to enjoy some company and savour the air conditioning on hot days. Some start as young as 13, trading from home with an eye on future careers in finance. Winning isn't guaranteed. This year, among the most turbulent in China's financial history, its stock markets more than doubled in the six months to May, only to crash amid concerns that growth in the country, which makes everything from cars to steel, is slowing faster than previously thought. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)

In this March 7, 1991 file photo, a U.S. Marine patrol walks across the charred oil landscape near a burning well during perimeter security patrol near Kuwait City. Twenty five years after the first U.S. Marines swept across the border into Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War, American forces find themselves battling the extremist Islamic State group, born out of al-Qaida, in the splintered territories of Iraq and Syria. The Arab allies that joined the 1991 coalition are fighting their own conflicts both at home and abroad, as Iran vies for greater regional power following a nuclear deal with world powers. (Photo by John Gaps III/AP Photo)

Ten segments of the Berlin Wall, which constitute the longest stretch outside of Berlin, are seen on display in Los Angeles, California September 18, 2014. On November 9, Germany will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. To mark the event Reuters Photographers around the world captured images of segments of the wall, which are kept as monuments in many countries from Taiwan to South Africa and Costa Rica. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

Kim Kardashian West attends the opening night of the new musical “The Cher Show” on Broadway at Neil Simon Theatre on December 03, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

Bareback rider Trevor Kay of the Univeristy of Montana – Western rides during a college rodeo hosted by the University of Montana on April 30, 2022 in Missoula, Montana. (Photo by Tommy Martino/University of Montana via Getty Images)

A mother takes a selfie while breastfeeding her baby at the “Hakab Na 2018”, an event held in celebration of National Breastfeeding Awareness Month at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, Philippines on Sunday, August 5, 2018. Now on its sixth year, the event is a gathering of families, lactation experts, peer counselors and breastfeeding advocacy supporters and was aimed at promoting the importance of providing support to breastfeeding mothers. (Photo by Avito C. Dalan/PNA Photo)

American rapper Cardi B poses for a photo during Hot 97 Summer Jam 2021 at Met Life Stadium on August 22, 2021 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki (R) is hugged by current Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre during a press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, May 5, 2022, after it was announced Psaki would step down from her role next week and be replaced by Jean-Pierre. (Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP Photo)