Gold's 20-Year Return Through the end of 2024, gold had posted a 20-year average annual return of 9.47%. If you had invested $10,000 at the start of this period, you'd have $65,967 in your account, a total gain of roughly 560%.
If you invested 20 years ago:
Percentage change: 492.4% Total: $5,924.
Quick Take: 10 Years of Investing in Gold
Ten years ago, the price of gold had an average closing price of $1,159 per ounce. Today, it's worth about $4,200 per ounce — a 262% increase in value. So, if you had invested $1,000 in gold a decade ago, it would be worth approximately $3,620 today.
If You Bought Tesla Stock 10 Years Ago
If you had invested $10,000, you could have bought roughly 693 shares. Currently, shares trade at $429.52, meaning your investment's value could have grown to $297,658 from stock price appreciation.
For gold to reach its true potential it can take time, which is why gold is seen as a long-term investment. Gold has shown excellent performance since the 1970s, with a price per ounce that has steadily trended upwards, making it well worth investing in gold.
On the other hand, investors who first bought Apple stock in July 2005 and have not trimmed their positions have recognized extraordinarily impressive growth. An initial investment of $10,000 20 years ago would now be worth about $1.546 million.
Here are the most effective ways to earn money and turn that 10K into 100K before you know it.
Buffett once said that if he were starting again today with $10,000, he would focus first on small businesses. “I probably would be focusing on smaller companies because I would be working with smaller sums, and there's more chance that something is overlooked in that arena,” he said at the shareholder meeting (1).
If you invested $10,000 in Apple in 1995, it would be worth $9.69 million today. The same investment in Microsoft? Still impressive — $1.56 million.
Check out the chart below and you'll see that if you invested $1,000 in Apple stock 20 years ago, it would today be worth about $130,000.
Gold typically maintains or gains value over time, but its price can drop annually. Over the past two decades, gold has lost value during six of those years. Some years saw minor drops in gold prices. For instance, the most recent decline in gold values occurred in 2022, when the price declined 0.23%.
Conclusion. Short-term price predictions for gold suggest an increase in its value and demand in the next years, at least until 2030, showing the price could gradually rise to around $7,000 an ounce. But price predictions beyond this date could depend on different scenarios.
Stocks have long been seen as a popular investment method, offering high potential returns, but with high risks attached. Investment Gold, however, can offer a long-term, safer alternative. As a mixed portfolio especially, no investor should overlook the opportunities of gold versus stocks.
Pay Down High-Interest Debt
That is, the money you'd make investing that $10,000 would be less than the interest charged on your debt. Putting extra money toward paying down high-interest debt is financially savvy, assuming you've started an emergency fund.
The famed wealthy entrepreneur Andrew Carnegie famously said more than a century ago, “Ninety percent of all millionaires become so through owning real estate. More money has been made in real estate than in all industrial investments combined.
Here's a cool fact: if you sock away $27.40 a day for a year, you'll have saved $10,000. It's called the “27.40 rule” in personal finance, and while that number can sound intimidating, the savings strategy behind it is that it's far less so if you break it down into a daily habit.
If you had invested $10,000 in Nvidia (NVDA 0.29%) on the day of its initial public offering in 1999 and never sold, you'd have a whopping $42.4 million today. Even if you had waited until 2015 to buy $10,000 of the stock and held on for the wild ride, your investment would be worth roughly $3.58 million now.
Here's a look at what your stake would be worth if you'd invested $10,000 in Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) 20 years ago. Let's get to the answer first: Your investment would now be worth $1,183,328.
If you invested $10,000 with founder Elon Musk 10 years ago, your stake would be worth $2.1 million now. That works out to a more than 70% average annual return. The same $10,000 put into the S&P 500 during that time grew just 274% to $37,376.
Warren Buffett avoids investing in gold due to its lack of practical uses and inherent value. Buffett favors silver because it fulfills value investing principles, with its use in industrial and medical applications. Gold, largely used for jewelry, lacks the practical applications Buffett seeks in an investment.
Gold's 20-Year Return
Through the end of 2024, gold had posted a 20-year average annual return of 9.47%. If you had invested $10,000 at the start of this period, you'd have $65,967 in your account, a total gain of roughly 560%.
Cons of buying gold as an investment
Likewise, an investment in a physical asset such as property has the potential to generate income rent. Extra costs may be incurred. If you keep gold at your house, you may need to pay transportation costs to get it there and you will likely want insurance to protect against theft.