"If You Had Invested ₩100 Million 10 Years Ago, You'd Have ₩13.8 Billion Today"—A Return Comparison Names 'This Stock' No. 1

[Financial News] Assuming an investment of ₩100 million 10 years ago, NVIDIA emerged as the asset with the highest return, as its value soared amid the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
According to the financial investment industry on the 26th, NVIDIA's share price rose approximately 138-fold, from $1.58 on September 1, 2016, to $217.44 on September 1 this year. Although this is a simple comparison that does not account for exchange-rate fluctuations, taxes or dividends, it means that an investment of ₩100 million at the time would now be valued at approximately ₩13.8 billion.
As recently as 2016, NVIDIA was a semiconductor company whose main business was graphics processing units (GPUs) for gaming. However, with the dawn of the generative AI era, it established itself as a key infrastructure company for AI data centers. Bitcoin also surged during the same period, but its gains fell short of NVIDIA's, which has taken the lead in the global AI race.
Bitcoin rose approximately 135-fold, from $572.3 per coin on September 1, 2016, to $77,403 on September 1 this year. An investment of ₩100 million in Bitcoin 10 years ago would therefore have grown to approximately ₩13.5 billion.
Investment returns from Korean semiconductor companies were also substantial. SK hynix's share price jumped approximately 47-fold, from ₩36,100 on September 1, 2016, to ₩1,693,000 on September 1 this year. Samsung Electronics likewise rose approximately 8.2-fold, from ₩31,740 to ₩261,000 during the same period.
U.S. technology stocks also delivered notable investment gains. Tesla climbed approximately 25-fold, from $14.13 to $356.09, while Apple rose approximately 12-fold, from $26.68 to $325.13. An investment of ₩100 million would thus have grown to approximately ₩2.5 billion and ₩1.2 billion, respectively.
Gold, a representative safe-haven asset, also rose more than fourfold over the past decade. According to the Korea Exchange (KRX), domestic gold prices increased approximately 4.1-fold, from ₩47,310 per gram on September 1, 2016, to ₩196,280 per gram on September 1 this year.
By contrast, Gangnam apartments recorded the smallest gain among the assets compared. Based on the actual transaction price of an 84-square-meter unit at Eunma Town Apartments in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul—a representative redevelopment complex in Gangnam—converted into a price per square meter, prices rose approximately 2.9-fold, from about ₩16 million per square meter in September 2016 to approximately ₩46 million this September.
However, this was merely a simple comparison of each asset's price on September 1, 2016, and September 1, 2026. Exchange rates, taxes, transaction costs, dividends and rental income were not taken into account. The actual investment returns may also differ because, unlike stocks or Bitcoin, real estate cannot be purchased in arbitrary portions totaling ₩100 million.
[email protected] Kim Hee-sun Reporter