It's like betting on a horse. You don't own it, you don't get any of their winnings (profits), and you don't get to ride (aka use) it. You are merely betting on if they do well with the other investors on the exchanges. You don't own Ripple or have any share in it's profits. We can't use it or own it.

The founders have said themselves they can't have volatility in the market which is why they keep the market flooded & intend to continue to do so. Their customers (banks) can't send money at one price and have it show up as another price. And as you said they don't use Ripple themselves even. It's merely a lack of understanding how it works & FOMO that drives the price. It is a bubble that will come down eventually as more and more people start to understand how and why it was built and is used.