Gold traded around 600 dollars per ounce in September 2006. As of September 2026, prices have been near 4,200 to 4,500 dollars per ounce, after touching an all time high above 5,000 earlier this year.
That works out to roughly seven times growth over two decades, so a 10,000 dollar investment made purely in physical gold (no storage costs subtracted) would be worth somewhere around 70,000 to 75,000 dollars today.
That is an annualized return in the low double digits, well above inflation but below the stock market’s long run average during the same stretch. Actual results would vary depending on whether you held bullion, coins, an ETF, or mining shares, and on fees or premiums paid along the way.