This means the inflation-adjusted real return of our $20 investment is $59,615.99. The compounding effect of inflation would account for 97.30% of returns ($2,150,998.21) during this period. In order to evaluate the real return on our investment, we must calculate the return with inflation taken into account. These numbers are not inflation adjusted, so they are considered nominal. This is a return on investment of 11,053,070.98%, with an absolute return of $2,210,614.20 on top of the original $20. To help put this inflation into perspective, if we had invested $20 in the S&P 500 index in 1899, our investment would be nominally worth approximately $2,210,634.20 in 2023.
As noted above, this yearly inflation rate compounds to produce an overall price difference of 3,606.88% over 124 years. The average inflation rate of 2.96% has a compounding effect between 18. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.