Over the past 25 years, gold has returned1,954.92%, from $272 an ounce in June 2001 to $5,589.38 on January 28, 2026. The S&P 500 managed 521% over the same period. Even over the last decade, gold’s 261% price return has nearly dead-heated with the S&P 500’s 262%. The “non-productive rock” Buffett dismisses has matched the world’s most powerful stock market and demolished it over a generation. That is not a coincidence, it is a verdict on inflation, currency debasement, and the limits of his framework.