Private markets are booming with $200B+ in annual secondary transactions, now competing with IPOs as exits. Why companies like SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI stay private 15+ years, and how democratizing access through platforms like Forge-Schwab could reshape venture capital for retail investors—with major risks. Secondary market transactions doubled since 2021 and now trade at 106% premium to par, up from 80-cent discounts, fundamentally shifting how VCs return capital to LPs.