$10,000 Kept in Cash Since 1950 Lost 93% of Its Buying Power (vs Treasury Bills and the S&P 500)

$10,000 kept in cash since January 1950 still says $10,000, but at end-2025 prices it buys what $728 bought then: about 93% less. To keep up with prices you would need about $137,000. In 3-month Treasury bills the same $10,000 grew to about $210,000 before taxes, only about half a percent a year above inflation. In the S&P 500 with dividends reinvested it became about $42.6 million before taxes and fees, with 16 losing years along the way, the worst 2008 at -36.6%.