All successful businesses provide value to succeed and survive, that's a given. The problem is that ever since the 80's junk bond era corrupt business people take over companies to load them with debt and extract financial assets.

And how does that supposedly work? Why do shareholders go along with it?

And what is stopping people from creating businesses that don't do that?

It sounds much like a conspiracy theory to me. The mysterious world of finance that everybody just know to be evil.

I don't doubt that shady things happen. But there has to be a better explanation than "evil businessmen extract value". And how is it "extracting", when people get actual services in return? If I buy an apple at a supermarket, has the supermarket extracted money from me?