Why people love gold
“It can’t be printed. It survives empires. It’s real.” All true. Gold is a useful allocation, especially when you’re worried about currency debasement or geopolitical chaos.
The pitch usually skips the awkward part: gold can sit dead-flat (or down) for entire decades.
The lost two decades, 1980–2000
Gold peaked above $850/oz in January 1980 during the inflation panic. It then bled out for twenty years, hitting $273/oz in 2000 — a 68% nominal loss, closer to 85% after inflation.
Anyone who bought the top in 1980 didn’t break even (in nominal dollars) until around 2008. In real purchasing power, they’re still waiting.
The 2011–2015 chop
More recently: gold peaked near $1,900/oz in 2011 as everyone braced for post-2008 money-printing inflation. By 2015 it was down to $1,060 — a 44% drawdown in four years. Try the 2011→2015 window in the widget below to see it.
1990–2025: gold lost to S&P 500 by $92,791 on a $10,000 investment.
Pick any window from 1990 to 2025 and a comparison asset.
When gold makes sense
Gold is a hedge, not a growth engine. Small allocations (5–10% of a portfolio) earn their keep by smoothing returns and protecting against currency events — not by outpacing stocks over a working life.
If you want long-run growth, the math is in the compound interest calculator. If you want to understand why nobody got rich just holding cash, see cash vs inflation.