“All that glitters isn’t gold, but the really good stuff is.” — Chip Wood
“You’ve endured the pain, now enjoy the gain.” — Rick Rule (“Maxims of Wall Street,” p. 154)
On Wall Street, the years 2024-25 will be remembered for two hot markets: technology stocks and gold. Last year, the tech sector took off. For example, Nvidia rose 200% last year and 27% this year; other tech stocks like Microsoft and Broadcom have done well. In the TNT Trader, we doubled our money in CoreWeave, a cloud AI play, this year.
But gold and gold stocks have had a dramatic run too. Gold itself rose over 30% last year, and up another 30% so far this year. In my newsletter, Forecasts & Strategies, my favorite miner has been a grand slam. It doubled last year and is ahead 135% in 2025.
Gold vs Stocks
Traditionally, stocks have done better than gold. Warren Buffett is famous for saying that gold is a “sterile” asset that doesn’t produce anything, nor does it pay interest or dividends. In the early 2000s, he pointed out that stocks have far outperformed gold.
As he told me in 2011, “I invest in businesses and friends, not gold.”
But things changed dramatically in the 21st century as a result of mismanagement by government, including the Federal Reserve, as a result of three events: the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the financial crisis of 2008 and the 2020 pandemic.
All three events resulted in bailouts, easy money and increased government intervention in the economy — and a new bull market in gold and silver that have outperformed the stock market.
Even Warren Buffett has taken a position in Barrick Gold (symbol GOLD).
Here’s shocking chart #1, the price of gold versus the S&P 500 Index.
As we can see from the chart, publicly-traded businesses somehow survived the three crises and reached all-time highs.
The chart reminds me of a statement by billionaire trader David Tepper that applies to Wall Street: “The end is not nigh: people and markets adapt to even the worst circumstances” (p. 109, Maxims of Wall Street).
But gold did even better, although it was much more volatile. As gold bug Julian M. Snyder states, “The impact of the rate of inflation on the price of gold is like tracking the footprints of an animal” (p. 152).
And there’s been plenty of inflation in the 21st century due to profligate fiscal and monetary policies:
–Government deficit spending has increased dramatically, causing the national debt to rise from $5.6 trillion to $37.3 trillion, an increase of 565%.
–The broad-based money supply (M2) has increased 360%, from $4.8 trillion to $22.1 trillion.
Not surprisingly, the price of gold is up 650% since 2000.
Update on “The Maxims of Wall Street”
You’ll notice that in my book “The Maxims of Wall Street,” I have added a large section on gold investing right after the section on government. They go hand in hand. (See pp. 143-154.) There’s plenty of financial wisdom in these pages.
If you don’t have a copy, I urge you to buy the new 11th ed. of “The Maxims of Wall Street,” available at Skousen Books at Discount for only $21 ($11 for all additional copies — they make a great gift). I autograph all copies and mail them at no extra charge within the United States.
Which Has Done Better, Gold or Gold Stocks?
Here’s another surprising chart, comparing the price of gold bullion versus publicly-traded gold stocks.
What’s shocking about this chart is that the conventional wisdom is that when gold goes up 10%, gold stocks have leverage and are expected to go up 20% or more. But that has not been the case since the early 1980s. In fact, as this chart shows since 2006, gold bullion itself has outperformed the gold stocks. Note that SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) is actually the price of gold bullion, not gold shares (despite its name). GDX represents the index for gold mining shares.
I suspect the reason why mining stocks haven’t outperformed gold itself is because of environmental restrictions and slow permitting of new mining operations. As a result, mining companies are having a harder time producing more gold as they dig deeper into the ground.
In my newsletter, my favorite miner (based in Canada) has outperformed substantially the price of gold, but that’s the exception to the rule. Gold is up 30% this year, but our mining company is ahead 135%.
For more information on my monthly newsletter and trading services, go to www.markskousen.com, or give Grant a call at 1-800-211-7661.
Personal Note: I continue to do podcast interviews on the economy, investing and my new book on Ben Franklin. Here is the latest interview with Chris Baker, host of the “Fountainhead Forum” on my background, my current views about the markets, and Ben Franklin: FF-350: Mark Skousen on the life and work of Benjamin Franklin – YouTube.
To order my new Franklin book at a discount, go to Skousen Books at Discount. I autograph each copy, include a rare Franklin stamp and mail them at no extra charge within the United States.
Upcoming Conferences
O Orlando Money Show, October 16-18, ChampionsGate Resort: I’ll be giving workshops on “20 Amazing Charts on Money and the Economy” and “Lazy Man’s Way to Richest: My Five Favorite ‘Buy and Hold’ Investments that Beat the Market,” followed by an autograph session. Other speakers include Charles Payne, Steve Moore, Keith Fitz-Gerald and Peter Schiff. To register, call 800-970-4355 and be sure to mention you are a F&S subscriber. Use this code for a discount: The MoneyShow Orlando.
O New Orleans Gold Conference, November 2-5, Rivergate Hilton: If gold and silver are on your mind, there is no better conference to attend than this granddaddy of investment conferences in New Orleans. I’ve been a speaker there longer than anyone else. (As you can see from the picture above, I tower over everyone!) For details, use this link: https://neworleansconference.com/skousen/. Be sure to mention you are a Skousen subscriber. Note: The retail price is $995 per ticket onsite, but if you use my name, you pay the discounted price of only $595; guests are $450 and $375 for virtual.
You Blew It!
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich “Coming Up Short!”
“American capitalism is the harshest form of capitalism in all the world’s advanced economics. It takes almost no account of social costs and benefits.” — Robert Reich
I’m a firm believer in developing friendships with people who see things differently.
While I’m in support of free market capitalism, I’ve read books by and associated frequently with Keynesians, Marxists, socialists and other critics of the market.
I’m a Christian, but often have discussions with non-believers, skeptics and atheists. That’s one of the reasons I produce FreedomFest. It’s an opportunity to hear viewpoints that may not be my own. It makes me think and re-evaluate my own beliefs.
As Benjamin Franklin once wrote, “By the collision of different sentiments, sparks of truth strike out, and political light is obtained.”
FreedomFest is famous for its numerous civil debates in politics, finance and religion. That’s why people keep coming back. We’ve had debates between Steve Moore and Paul Krugman on the economy, John Mackey and Kevin O’Leary on business and Christopher Hitchens and Dinesh D’Souza on religion. Plus of course our most popular event of the conference, the mock trial! (For next year’s program, dated July 8-11, 2026, in Las Vegas, see www.freedomfest.com).
Recently, I purchased both the hardback and audiobook of “Coming Up Short,” the memoirs of former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, who also teaches at Berkeley.
He definitely lives up the title of his book. He’s not only short (4’ 11”), but is short on a balanced picture of the United States of America. He is constantly complaining about America and what it needs to do to get its act together.
And he often gets his facts wrong. In one place, he says that 60 percent of the richest people in America inherit their wealth (and therefore don’t deserve their wealth and should be taxed to death). According to Forbes 400 Richest People issue, less than 30% inherit their wealth.
He constantly harangues about America’s inequality, greedy corporations, tax cuts for the rich and “stagnating” wages for workers. He claims, “American capitalism is the harshest form of capitalism in all the world’s advanced economics. It takes almost no account of social costs and benefits.”
Really? Then why do millions of foreigners spend huge amounts of time and money to get a green card, or desperately engage in dangerous illegal border crossings to come into the United States?
Is it really true that the average worker has hardly seen any increase it his standard of living? Not if you look at “total compensation,” including benefits.
Source: U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee
He railed against Amazon, the largest online retail store in the world, because it no longer offers stock options to all employees. He claims, “Profit sharing has all but disappeared from major corporations,” ignoring all the companies that still offer profit-sharing plans such as Microsoft and Home Depot, which have made many ordinary employees multi-millionaires!
Reich is a big fan of the stakeholder philosophy of business, but fails to mention John Mackey’s book, “Conscious Capitalism,” a bestselling book that extols the virtues of win-win-win stakeholder philosophy at Whole Foods Market.
His favorite politician is socialist Senator Bernie Sanders, but fails to point out that Sanders owns three homes and is a multi-millionaire. He likes former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, but does not mention how she made some $42 million from insider trading while in Congress (legal, but not ethical).
I admire his mission to fight the “bullies” in life from a young age. I just wished he had taken on the bullies in public sector besides Trump!
P.S. I’ve invited several times the Honorable Robert B. Reich to a debate at FreedomFest, but he always turns me down. What is he afraid of?
Good investing, AEIOU,
Mark Skousen
