If I'd invested in gold since 1981
$1,000 put into gold at the end of 1981 would be worth about $10,512 today — a 10.5× return, or roughly 5.4% a year. Change the amount below to run your own number.
You'd have
$10,512
from $1,000 invested — up 951%.
The story behind the number
Gold since 1981 has been a remarkably smooth ride. $1,000 put in at the end of 1981 grew to $10,512 — a 10.5× return, or about 5.4% a year.
The ride mattered as much as the destination. The strongest single year was 1999, up 20%; the worst was 1983, down 18%.
Holding on took nerve: the position fell as much as 49% from its 1983 peak to its 1999 low, before climbing back above that high by 2005.
Common questions
- How much would I have if I'd invested $1,000 in gold in 1981?
- $1,000 invested in gold at the end of 1981 would be worth about $10,512 today — a 10.5× return, or roughly 5.4% per year.
- What were the best and worst years for gold since 1981?
- The best year was 1999, up about 20%. The toughest was 1983, when it fell about 18%. Across the window, 267 of 534 years finished lower than they started.
- What was the biggest drop along the way?
- The steepest decline was about 49%, from a peak in 1983 to a low in 1999, with the value recovering above its prior high by 2005.
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.
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