Wealth is anything that has value to others.

You can create wealth in a capitalist economy by creating goods or services that others find value in and exchanging those goods or services with other people.

Where I think people are getting hung up, is the exchange itself, especially when the exchange involves money.

In a monetary exchange, one person is exchanging money and the other is receiving a good or a service. In that, there is a zero sum where one person gains money and one person has less money. However, both people received something of value since it was a voluntary exchange.

The origination of the wealth occurred when one of the person's created something that the other saw value in, not when the money was exchanged. That wealth is realized upon the exchange, but it originated when the good or service was first created.

An example, as asked. You find some wood. You take the wood into a market but no one wants it and no one finds it valuable, they all have wood. You take your wood home and you craft your wood into a basket. You take your basket back into the market and someone sees value in it. They want your basket, but you don't want to give it away, you worked hard on it. So the other person goes home to see if they have anything you might be willing to take in exchange. They happen to be a stone mason and they make sharp tools for cutting. They return and offer you a sharp stone tool in exchange for your basket. You agree that this is a fair exchange and make the trade. You have both created wealth by making items of value that people wanted. This is how wealth is created on the most basic level. You have both created, and possess, goods others find valuable. All the other people in the market just have wood sticks and stones, not baskets and stone cutting tools. You do, you are wealthy in comparison, congratulations!

Your creation of baskets from wood does not prevent others from creating baskets. You did not steal your new found wealth. You created it. If they can create and innovative goods, or services, they too can and will generate wealth, and perhaps you can exchange your baskets for their goods and as a result you will both have created more wealth!! Now, instead of just having wood, you have a basket, stone tools, and a blanket. Your wealth keeps growing!

In an advanced capitalist economy, someone may take money (capital) and use that capital to create other goods and services that people find value in and want to exchange for. When that happens, they create wealth. The people who control capital, and do so in ways that create wealth, are called capitalists. I take my $20,000 of capital, trade it for a retail space, some flour, cheese, an over and some utility bills and I create pizza. Others find it valuable and want to exchange their money for my pizza. I've created wealth.

But, maybe no one wants to buy my pizza. There are already other people making pizza and they do it better, and they don't ask for as much in exchange. Oh no! The risk I took with my capital wasn't realized and no one exchanges with me. I end up stuck with the space, flour, cheese and it rots and is no good. I lost wealth. The risk I took investing my capital didn't pan out.

Money is simply a means for exchange that came into play because barter is inefficient. People confuse money for wealth, which makes sense because money has wealth, but the creation of money in and of itself, is not wealth.

Now, think of all of the millions and billions of goods and services people have created over the years. Everything from jewelry to clothing to buildings to food and so on. It's the creation of those goods, and services, that created wealth. Of course, that wealth is completely dependent on the value others see in those things, and the wealth is only truly realized once exchanged, and money is simply the means for the exchange.