Gold's Quiet 20-Year Bull Run: What $10K Would've Become

Here’s something that might make traditional equity investors pause: if you’d thrown $10,000 into gold two decades ago, you’d be sitting on roughly $66K today—a ~560% return with an average annual gain of 9.47%.

That’s not flashy, but it’s steady. And it outpaced a lot of market volatility along the way.

The Real Driver? U.S. Treasury Yields

Turns out gold’s price doesn’t dance randomly. According to PIMCO’s analysis, the single biggest factor moving gold is the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note. The math is blunt: every 100-basis-point spike in real yields historically tanks gold prices by ~24%.

Why? Simple—gold pays zero dividends. When Treasury yields climb, investors can actually earn money sitting in bonds instead. The opportunity cost becomes too high. When yields drop? Suddenly holding non-earning gold looks a lot smarter.

What Else Moves the Needle

Inflation, geopolitical drama, central bank buying, the dollar’s strength, supply-demand swings—all matter. But they’re secondary compared to yield dynamics.

The takeaway: Gold isn’t a get-rich-quick asset. It’s the boring portfolio stabilizer that actually works when everything else gets weird.