**Gold vs Stocks: The 10-Year Showdown**

Quick math: drop $1,000 into gold a decade ago, you'd have roughly $2,360 today. Not bad — that's a 136% gain, averaging 13.6% annually.

But here's the thing: S&P 500 crushes it with 174% over the same period (17.41% per year). Plus dividends. So stocks still win on pure returns.

Why people still mess with gold anyway?

**The chaos hedge.** Gold doesn't generate cash flow like stocks or real estate. It just sits there. But when everything goes sideways — market crash, currency collapse, geopolitical chaos — gold typically goes *up* while other assets tank. 2020 pandemic? Gold jumped 24.43%. 2023 inflation spiral? Up 13.08%.

**The real play:** Gold isn't about getting rich. It's about *not losing everything*. Diversification, not decoration. Expect forecasts to push it toward $3k/ounce in 2025.

TL;DR — Stocks for growth, gold for insurance.