You probably don't need me to tell you this, but 2022 has been an awful year for Wall Street. The S&P 500, which is viewed as the most encompassing of the major U.S. indexes, produced its worst first-half return since 1970. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite has shed as much as a third of its value, which easily pushed it into bear market territory.

But it's not all bad news. Even though things appear dire for the stock market right now, history has shown that every bear market decline and correction throughout history is a buying opportunity. When given enough time, every notable decline has eventually been cleared away by a bull market.

Of course, owning great companies helps build wealth, too. Just ask shareholders of e-commerce giant Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN).

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Source Fool.com