Over 200 years, a dollar in stocks became millions; in gold it barely held its value.

Real value of $1 invested in 1802, after inflation, in US stocks versus gold.

Why this is happening

Stocks pay out the profits of growing companies and reinvest the rest, so each year of earnings compounds on the last across two centuries.
Gold pays nothing; it only roughly tracks the price level, so it preserves value but cannot compound.
Tiny differences in annual return become enormous gaps once they run for 200 years.

The take

The equity risk premium compounding over a lifetime is the whole game. Safety that earns nothing is its own kind of loss once you stretch the clock out far enough.

Source: Jeremy Siegel, Stocks for the Long Run