If I'd invested in gold since 1979
$1,000 put into gold at the end of 1979 would be worth about $8,233 today — a 8.23× return, or roughly 4.6% a year. Change the amount below to run your own number.
You'd have
$8,233
from $1,000 invested — up 723%.
The story behind the number
Gold since 1979 has been a remarkably smooth ride. $1,000 put in at the end of 1979 grew to $8,233 — a 8.23× return, or about 4.6% a year.
The ride mattered as much as the destination. The strongest single year was 1980, up 28%; the worst was 1980, down 20%.
Holding on took nerve: the position fell as much as 63% from its 1980 peak to its 1999 low, before climbing back above that high by 2006.
Common questions
- How much would I have if I'd invested $1,000 in gold in 1979?
- $1,000 invested in gold at the end of 1979 would be worth about $8,233 today — a 8.23× return, or roughly 4.6% per year.
- What were the best and worst years for gold since 1979?
- The best year was 1980, up about 28%. The toughest was 1980, when it fell about 20%. Across the window, 283 of 558 years finished lower than they started.
- What was the biggest drop along the way?
- The steepest decline was about 63%, from a peak in 1980 to a low in 1999, with the value recovering above its prior high by 2006.
The chart above shows the whole journey, not just the destination. Try switching to a bit each year to see how spreading your buying would have changed the outcome — or skip the latte to find out what a small daily habit could have grown into instead.