Inflation According To Ron Baron
Did you know that the price of most goods and services doubles every 14 years?
Inflation, a general increase in prices over time, has a significant impact on the purchasing power of our money. One effective way to outpace inflation and preserve or even grow our wealth is by investing in assets that have the potential to generate returns higher than the rate of inflation.
| As of 3/31/2026 | Year | Cost | March 2026 | Multiple | CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ron’s Home 1948-1955 1122 Grassmere Avenue, Wanamassa, NJ (Asbury Park, NJ “suburb”) | 1948 | $5,000 | $633,6001 | 126.7x | 6.5% |
Ron’s Home 1955-1975 542 DealParkway, West Allenhurst, NJ (Asbury Park, NJ “suburb”) | 1955 | $20,000 | $1,391,1001 | 69.6x | 6.2% |
| Minimum Wage (New York) | 1957 | $1 hour | $16.002 hour | 16.0x | 4.2% |
| Golf Caddy Fees | 1957 | $4 18 holes | $160 18 holes | 40.0x | 5.6% |
| Gallon of Gasoline | 1960 | $0.31 gallon | $3.993 gallon | 12.9x | 4.0% |
| Ron’s Annual Tuition at Bucknell University | 1965 | $3,500 | $72,6004 | 20.7x | 5.2% |
| Ron’s U.S.Patent Examiner AnnualSalary | 1966 | $7,729 | $138,7285 | 17.9x | 5.0% |
| Ford Mustang (starting price) | 1966 | $2,500 | $32,6406 | 13.1x | 4.4% |
| Sirloin Steak | 1966 | $0.67 pound | $14.127 pound | 21.1x | 5.3% |
| NYC TopLaw Firm – First YearAssociate Annual Salary | 1970 | $15,000 | $225,0008 | 15.0x | 5.0% |
| Gold | 1974 | $188 ounce | $4,7009 ounce | 25.0x | 6.5% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 1982 | 795 | $46,34210 | 58.3x* | 9.7%* |
| S&P 500 Index | 1982 | 107 | $6,52910 | 60.8x* | 9.8%* |
| Gross Domestic Product (GDP) | 1968 | $968 billion | $31,42311 billion | 32.5x | 6.3% |
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) information is as of December 31, 2025.
*Returns for indexes listed do not include dividends which add an estimated 1.5% to 2.0% annually to such returns.
Sources:
(1) www.zillow.com
(2) https://dol.ny.gov/minimum-wage-0
(3) www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/fact-741-august-20-2012-historical-gasoline-prices-1929-2011 fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GASREGW
(4) www.bucknell.edu/admissions-aid/tuition-fees-financial-aid/information-about-tuition-fees
(5) www.federalpay.org/employees/occupations/patent-examining
(6) www.ford.com/cars/mustang/
(7) https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/APU0000703613
(8) https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/cravath-announces-raises-upping-pay-ante-large-law-firms-2023-11-28/
(9) https://www.macrotrends.net/1333/historical-gold-prices-100-year-chart
(10) FactSet.
(11) https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GDP
Risk: All investments are subject to risk and may lose value.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted measure of 30 U.S. blue-chip companies. It covers all industries with the exception of Transportation and Utilities. The S&P 500 Index measures the performance of 500 widely held large-cap U.S. companies. The indexes include reinvestment of dividends which positively impact the performance results. The indexes are unmanaged. Index performance is not Fund performance. Investors cannot invest directly in an index.