The Best $1,000 You Never Spent
Most of us have spent $1,000 on something we barely remember. But had you put that same money into the right stock at the right moment, you could be a millionaire today. And in a few cases, you could have missed the IPO by years...even decades...and still made it.
Amazon
Amazon went public at $18 per share in 1997. Your $1,000 would have bought 55 shares. Following four stock splits, those shares would have turned into 13,200 shares worth approximately $3.4 million today. Not bad for investing in what was still basically an online bookstore.
SounderBruce from Seattle, United States, Wikimedia Commons
You Could Have Waited Until 1998
You did not have to buy Amazon at its IPO. Its split-adjusted price briefly dropped to around $0.24 during 1998. A perfectly timed $1,000 investment near that level would have grown to just over $1 million today.
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola went public at $40 per share in 1919. Your $1,000 would have bought 25 shares. After more than a century of stock splits and stock dividends, those shares would have become approximately 230,400 shares worth more than $20 million today.
Holger.Ellgaard, Wikimedia Commons
You Did Not Need To Buy Coca-Cola In 1919
Missing Coca-Cola’s IPO was not the end of the world. Its split-adjusted share price was still around $0.05 at points during 1962. A perfectly timed $1,000 investment back then would have bought roughly 20,000 current shares worth around $1.7 million today.
Mike Gonzalez (TheCoffee), Wikimedia Commons
Nvidia
Nvidia went public at $12 per share in 1999. Your $1,000 would have bought 83 shares. Following six stock splits, including its huge 10-for-1 split in 2024, those shares would have become nearly 40,000 shares worth approximately $9.1 million today.
You Could Have Waited Until 2010
You did not need to predict Nvidia’s future during its IPO. As late as September 2, 2010, its split-adjusted price briefly fell to about $0.21. A perfectly timed $1,000 investment that day would be worth approximately $1.08 million today. By the following trading day, the window had effectively closed.
Home Depot
Home Depot went public at $12 per share in 1981. Your $1,000 would have bought 83 shares. Following numerous stock splits and more than four decades of growth, that original investment would be worth approximately $5.8 million today.
Mike Mozart from Funny YouTube, USA, Wikimedia Commons
Apple
You did not need to recognize Apple’s potential when it went public in 1980. Sure, if you had, your $1,000 would be worth roughly $3.4 million today. But Apple gave investors another remarkable opportunity more than two decades later.
Jeff Keyzer from Austin, TX, USA, Wikimedia Commons
You Could Have Bought Apple In 2003
As recently as April 2003, Apple’s split-adjusted share price fell to around $0.20. A perfectly timed $1,000 investment back then would have bought approximately 5,000 current shares worth roughly $1.7 million today.
McDonald’s
McDonald’s went public at $22.50 per share in 1965. Your $1,000 would have bought 44 shares. After decades of stock splits, those shares would have turned into more than 32,000 shares worth approximately $8 million today. That is a lot of Happy Meals.
Cogart Strangehill, Wikimedia Commons
Monster Beverage
You did not need to discover Monster before everyone else. Its predecessor, Hansen Natural, had already been public for years when its split-adjusted share price fell to roughly $0.02 in February 2003. A perfectly timed $1,000 investment would be worth approximately $2.2 million today.
Oracle
Oracle went public at $15 per share in 1986. Your $1,000 would have bought 66 shares. Following its stock splits, those shares would have become more than 21,000 shares worth approximately $3.2 million today.
Peter Kaminski from San Francisco, California, USA, Wikimedia Commons
Walmart
Walmart went public at $16.50 per share in 1970. Your $1,000 would have bought 60 shares. Following eleven 2-for-1 splits and its 3-for-1 split in 2024, those shares would have become 368,640 shares worth approximately $40.6 million today.
Adobe
Adobe went public at $11 per share in 1986. Your $1,000 would have bought 90 shares. Following six stock splits, those shares would have turned into 5,760 shares worth approximately $1.4 million today.
Berkshire Hathaway
When Warren Buffett took control of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965, shares traded for around $18. Your $1,000 would have bought 55 shares. Berkshire has never split its Class A stock, and those 55 shares would now be worth approximately $41.6 million.
You Could Have Waited Until 1982
You did not have to invest alongside Buffett in 1965. Berkshire Class A shares traded as low as roughly $430 in 1982. Your $1,000 would have bought two whole shares, which would be worth approximately $1.51 million today.
USA International Trade Administration, Wikimedia Commons
Microsoft
Microsoft went public at $21 per share in 1986. Your $1,000 would have bought 47 shares. After nine stock splits, those shares would have turned into 13,536 shares worth approximately $6.7 million today.
UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group went public in 1984. Its split-adjusted opening price was roughly $0.11 per share. A $1,000 investment around that level would represent approximately 9,000 current shares worth around $3.4 million today.
Intel
Intel went public at $23.50 per share in 1971, but you did not have to buy on its first day. Its split-adjusted price remained low enough at points during the 1970s for a perfectly timed $1,000 investment to be worth more than $1 million today. Buying at the IPO would now be worth roughly $6.3 million.
Cisco
Cisco went public at $18 per share in 1990. Your $1,000 would have bought 55 shares. Following nine stock splits, those shares would have become more than 15,000 shares worth approximately $1.7 million today. You just had to hold through one particularly brutal dot-com crash.
Travis Wise, Wikimedia Commons
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson went public at $37.50 per share in 1944. Your $1,000 would have bought 26 shares. Following decades of splits and stock dividends, those shares would represent roughly 65,000 current shares worth approximately $17.5 million today.
ajay_suresh, Wikimedia Commons
Cintas
Cintas went public at $6.50 per share in 1983. Your $1,000 would have bought 153 shares. Following six stock splits, including its 4-for-1 split in 2024, those shares would have become 11,016 shares worth approximately $2.2 million today.
Raysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Scalable Grid Engine, Wikimedia Commons
Fastenal
Fastenal went public at $9 per share in 1987. Your $1,000 would have bought 111 shares. Following nine stock splits, those shares would have turned into 42,624 shares worth approximately $2.1 million today.
IlliniGradResearch, Wikimedia Commons
Lowe’s
Lowe’s went public at $12.25 per share in 1961. Your $1,000 would have bought 81 shares. Following decades of stock splits, those shares would represent approximately 9,720 current shares worth around $1.9 million today.
Netflix: The Millionaire That Got Away
Netflix went public at $15 per share in 2002. Your $1,000 would have bought 66 shares, which became 9,240 shares after its stock splits. At Netflix’s June 2025 peak, they were worth roughly $1.24 million. Today, they are worth approximately $667,000...but another rally could put them back above $1 million.
Marit & Toomas Hinnosaar, Wikimedia Commons
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