How much was $10,000 invested in the S&P 500 in 2000?
$10,000 invested in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 2000 would have grown to $32,527 over 20 years — an average return of 6.07% per year.
According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in February 2014 would be worth $5,971.20, or a gain of 497.12%, as of February 5, 2024, and this return excludes dividends but includes price increases. Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 178.17% and gold's return of 55.50% over the same time frame.
Barchart on X: "Fun Fact 🚨: A $10,000 investment in the S&P 500 back in 1970 would be worth $2.3 million today" / X.
Stock market returns between 2000 and 2023
If you invested $100 in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 2000, you would have about $488.05 at the end of 2023, assuming you reinvested all dividends. This is a return on investment of 388.05%, or 6.93% per year.
The historical average yearly return of the S&P 500 is 9.74% over the last 20 years, as of the end of February 2024. This assumes dividends are reinvested.
In 1980, had you invested a mere $1,000 in what went on to become the top-performing stock of S&P 500, then you would be sitting on a cool $1.2 million today.
| Discount Rate | Present Value | Future Value |
|---|---|---|
| 6% | $1,000 | $3,207.14 |
| 7% | $1,000 | $3,869.68 |
| 8% | $1,000 | $4,660.96 |
| 9% | $1,000 | $5,604.41 |
It's extremely unlikely you'll earn 10% returns every single year, but the annual highs and lows have historically averaged out to roughly 10% per year over several decades. Over a lifetime, it's possible to earn over half a million dollars with just $100 per month.
Assuming an average annual return rate of about 10% (a typical historical average), a $10,000 investment in the S&P 500 could potentially grow to approximately $25,937 over 10 years.
| Rate of return | 10 years | 30 years |
|---|---|---|
| 4% | $72,000 | $336,500 |
| 6% | $79,000 | $474,300 |
| 8% | $86,900 | $679,700 |
| 10% | $95,600 | $987,000 |
Why you shouldn't just invest in the S&P 500?
The one time it's okay to choose a single investment
That's because your investment gives you access to the broad stock market. Meanwhile, if you only invest in S&P 500 ETFs, you won't beat the broad market. Rather, you can expect your portfolio's performance to be in line with that of the broad market.
Investing in an S&P 500 fund can instantly diversify your portfolio and is generally considered less risky. S&P 500 index funds or ETFs will track the performance of the S&P 500, which means when the S&P 500 does well, your investment will, too. (The opposite is also true, of course.)
Historically, the market trends upwards over time: While there can be corrections and downturns, the S&P 500 has historically delivered positive returns over the long term (at least 10 years).
For a point of reference, the S&P 500 has a historical average annual total return of about 10%, not accounting for inflation. This doesn't mean you can expect 10% growth every year; you could experience a gain one year and a loss the next.
Looking at the S&P 500 for the years 1993 to mid-2023, the average stock market return for the last 30 years is 9.90% (7.22% when adjusted for inflation). Some of this success can be attributed to the dot-com boom in the late 1990s (before the bust), which resulted in high return rates for five consecutive years.
The average stock market return is about 10% per year for nearly the last century, as measured by the S&P 500 index. In some years, the market returns more than that, and in other years it returns less.
As you will see, the future value of $40,000 over 20 years can range from $59,437.90 to $7,601,985.51.
If you invest $100,000 at an annual interest rate of 6%, at the end of 20 years, your initial investment will amount to a total of $320,714, putting your interest earned over the two decades at $220,714.
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The classic approach of doubling your money by investing in a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds is probably the one that applies to most investors. Investing to double your money can be done safely over several years, but for those who are impatient, there's more of a risk of losing most or all of their money.
How much will $3000 be worth in 20 years?
The table below shows the present value (PV) of $3,000 in 20 years for interest rates from 2% to 30%. As you will see, the future value of $3,000 over 20 years can range from $4,457.84 to $570,148.91.
Once you have $1 million in assets, you can look seriously at living entirely off the returns of a portfolio. After all, the S&P 500 alone averages 10% returns per year. Setting aside taxes and down-year investment portfolio management, a $1 million index fund could provide $100,000 annually.
Imagine you wish to amass $3000 monthly from your investments, amounting to $36,000 annually. If you park your funds in a savings account offering a 2% annual interest rate, you'd need to inject roughly $1.8 million into the account.
We saw in the previous section that investing in the S&P 500 has historically allowed investors to double their money about every six or seven years. Your initial $1,000 investment will grow to $2,000 by year 7, $4,000 by year 14, and $6,000 by year 18.
A stock portfolio focused on dividends can generate $1,000 per month or more in perpetual passive income, Mircea Iosif wrote on Medium. “For example, at a 4% dividend yield, you would need a portfolio worth $300,000.
