If I'd invested in gold since 2021
$1,000 put into gold at the end of 2021 would be worth about $2,305 today — a 2.31× return, or roughly 20.8% a year. Change the amount below to run your own number.
You'd have
$2,305
from $1,000 invested — up 131%.
The story behind the number
Gold since 2021 has been a remarkably smooth ride. $1,000 put in at the end of 2021 grew to $2,305 — a 2.31× return, or about 20.8% a year. That beat the S&P 500, which turned the same $1,000 into $1,562 — you'd have come out roughly 1.48× ahead of simply buying the index.
The ride mattered as much as the destination. The strongest single year was 2026, up 13%; the worst was 2026, down 11%.
Holding on took nerve: the position fell as much as 20% from its 2026 peak to its 2026 low and had not fully reclaimed that peak by the end of the window. Inflation takes a bite, too — consumer prices rose about 19% over the period, so in today's money the result is closer to 1.94× what you put in.
Common questions
- How much would I have if I'd invested $1,000 in gold in 2021?
- $1,000 invested in gold at the end of 2021 would be worth about $2,305 today — a 2.31× return, or roughly 20.8% per year.
- What were the best and worst years for gold since 2021?
- The best year was 2026, up about 13%. The toughest was 2026, when it fell about 11%. Across the window, 23 of 54 years finished lower than they started.
- What was the biggest drop along the way?
- The steepest decline was about 20%, from a peak in 2026 to a low in 2026, a level it had not fully recovered by the latest data.
- Would I have done better in S&P 500?
- No — the S&P 500 turned $1,000 into about $1,562 over the same window, while gold reached $2,305. Gold came out ahead.
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.
More gold scenarios
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