If You Had Invested $1,000 in the S&P 500 20 Years Ago, Here’s How Much You’d Have Today

Core Insights - The S&P 500 serves as a key benchmark for the performance of the U.S. stock market, comprising 500 leading publicly traded companies [1] Investment Performance Over Time - An investment of $1,000 in the S&P 500 index fund on December 1, 2005, would have faced a decline to approximately $590 by February 1, 2009, due to the housing market crash and Great Recession, representing a drop of over 40% [3] - By December 1, 2015, the S&P 500 had rebounded to 2,043.94, marking a 63.7% increase from the initial investment, making the $1,000 worth $1,637 [4] - As of December 3, 2025, the S&P 500 is projected to close at 6,849.72, reflecting a growth of 448.7% since 2005, resulting in the original $1,000 investment being valued at $4,487, not accounting for inflation [5] Future Investment Potential - Historical data suggests that the S&P 500 has averaged a return of around 10% before inflation over the last century, indicating that a $1,000 investment today could grow to approximately $6,727.50 in 20 years if this trend continues [7]