$500,000,000 in 1906 is worth $17,536,888,888.89 today

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Value of $500,000,000 from 1906 to 2024

$500,000,000 in 1906 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $17,536,888,888.89 today, an increase of $17,036,888,888.89 over 118 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.06% per year between 1906 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 3,407.38%.

This means that today's prices are 35.07 times as high as average prices since 1906, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index. A dollar today only buys 2.851% of what it could buy back then.

The inflation rate in 1906 was 2.27%. The current inflation rate compared to the end of last year is now 2.60%. If this number holds, $500,000,000 today will be equivalent in buying power to $512,989,524.52 next year. The current inflation rate page gives more detail on the latest inflation rates.

⌃
Inflation from 1906 to 2024
Cumulative price change3,407.38%
Average inflation rate3.06%
Converted amount
$500,000,000 base		$17,536,888,888.89
Price difference
$500,000,000 base		$17,036,888,888.89
CPI in 19069.000
CPI in 2024315.664
Inflation in 19062.27%
Inflation in 20242.60%
$500,000,000 in 1906$17,536,888,888.89 in 2024
USD inflation since 1906
Annual Rate, the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI
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Buying power of $500,000,000 in 1906

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $500,000,000 in 1906 (price index tracking began in 1635).

For example, if you started with $500,000,000, you would need to end with $17,536,888,888.89 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").

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When $500,000,000 is equivalent to $17,536,888,888.89 over time, that means that the "real value" of a single U.S. dollar decreases over time. In other words, a dollar will pay for fewer items at the store.

This effect explains how inflation erodes the value of a dollar over time. By calculating the value in 1906 dollars, the chart below shows how $500,000,000 is worth less over 118 years.

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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, each of these USD amounts below is equal in terms of what it could buy at the time:

Dollar inflation: 1906-2024
YearDollar ValueInflation Rate
1906$500,000,000.002.27%
1907$522,222,222.224.44%
1908$511,111,111.11-2.13%
1909$505,555,555.56-1.09%
1910$527,777,777.784.40%
1911$527,777,777.780.00%
1912$538,888,888.892.11%
1913$550,000,000.002.06%
1914$555,555,555.561.01%
1915$561,111,111.111.00%
1916$605,555,555.567.92%
1917$711,111,111.1117.43%
1918$838,888,888.8917.97%
1919$961,111,111.1114.57%
1920$1,111,111,111.1115.61%
1921$994,444,444.44-10.50%
1922$933,333,333.33-6.15%
1923$950,000,000.001.79%
1924$950,000,000.000.00%
1925$972,222,222.222.34%
1926$983,333,333.331.14%
1927$966,666,666.67-1.69%
1928$950,000,000.00-1.72%
1929$950,000,000.000.00%
1930$927,777,777.78-2.34%
1931$844,444,444.44-8.98%
1932$761,111,111.11-9.87%
1933$722,222,222.22-5.11%
1934$744,444,444.443.08%
1935$761,111,111.112.24%
1936$772,222,222.221.46%
1937$800,000,000.003.60%
1938$783,333,333.33-2.08%
1939$772,222,222.22-1.42%
1940$777,777,777.780.72%
1941$816,666,666.675.00%
1942$905,555,555.5610.88%
1943$961,111,111.116.13%
1944$977,777,777.781.73%
1945$1,000,000,000.002.27%
1946$1,083,333,333.338.33%
1947$1,238,888,888.8914.36%
1948$1,338,888,888.898.07%
1949$1,322,222,222.22-1.24%
1950$1,338,888,888.891.26%
1951$1,444,444,444.447.88%
1952$1,472,222,222.221.92%
1953$1,483,333,333.330.75%
1954$1,494,444,444.440.75%
1955$1,488,888,888.89-0.37%
1956$1,511,111,111.111.49%
1957$1,561,111,111.113.31%
1958$1,605,555,555.562.85%
1959$1,616,666,666.670.69%
1960$1,644,444,444.441.72%
1961$1,661,111,111.111.01%
1962$1,677,777,777.781.00%
1963$1,700,000,000.001.32%
1964$1,722,222,222.221.31%
1965$1,750,000,000.001.61%
1966$1,800,000,000.002.86%
1967$1,855,555,555.563.09%
1968$1,933,333,333.334.19%
1969$2,038,888,888.895.46%
1970$2,155,555,555.565.72%
1971$2,250,000,000.004.38%
1972$2,322,222,222.223.21%
1973$2,466,666,666.676.22%
1974$2,738,888,888.8911.04%
1975$2,988,888,888.899.13%
1976$3,161,111,111.115.76%
1977$3,366,666,666.676.50%
1978$3,622,222,222.227.59%
1979$4,033,333,333.3311.35%
1980$4,577,777,777.7813.50%
1981$5,050,000,000.0010.32%
1982$5,361,111,111.116.16%
1983$5,533,333,333.333.21%
1984$5,772,222,222.224.32%
1985$5,977,777,777.783.56%
1986$6,088,888,888.891.86%
1987$6,311,111,111.113.65%
1988$6,572,222,222.224.14%
1989$6,888,888,888.894.82%
1990$7,261,111,111.115.40%
1991$7,566,666,666.674.21%
1992$7,794,444,444.443.01%
1993$8,027,777,777.782.99%
1994$8,233,333,333.332.56%
1995$8,466,666,666.672.83%
1996$8,716,666,666.672.95%
1997$8,916,666,666.672.29%
1998$9,055,555,555.561.56%
1999$9,255,555,555.562.21%
2000$9,566,666,666.673.36%
2001$9,838,888,888.892.85%
2002$9,994,444,444.441.58%
2003$10,222,222,222.222.28%
2004$10,494,444,444.442.66%
2005$10,850,000,000.003.39%
2006$11,200,000,000.003.23%
2007$11,519,000,000.002.85%
2008$11,961,277,777.783.84%
2009$11,918,722,222.22-0.36%
2010$12,114,222,222.221.64%
2011$12,496,611,111.113.16%
2012$12,755,222,222.222.07%
2013$12,942,055,555.561.46%
2014$13,152,000,000.001.62%
2015$13,167,611,111.110.12%
2016$13,333,722,222.221.26%
2017$13,617,777,777.782.13%
2018$13,957,222,222.222.49%
2019$14,203,194,444.441.76%
2020$14,378,425,925.931.23%
2021$15,053,898,148.154.70%
2022$16,258,657,407.418.00%
2023$16,927,898,148.154.12%
2024$17,536,888,888.893.60%*
* Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.
Click to show 112 more rows

This conversion table shows various other 1906 amounts in today's dollars, based on the 3,407.38% change in prices:

Conversion: 1906 dollars today
Initial valueEquivalent value
$1 dollar in 1906$35.07 dollars today
$5 dollars in 1906$175.37 dollars today
$10 dollars in 1906$350.74 dollars today
$50 dollars in 1906$1,753.69 dollars today
$100 dollars in 1906$3,507.38 dollars today
$500 dollars in 1906$17,536.89 dollars today
$1,000 dollars in 1906$35,073.78 dollars today
$5,000 dollars in 1906$175,368.89 dollars today
$10,000 dollars in 1906$350,737.78 dollars today
$50,000 dollars in 1906$1,753,688.89 dollars today
$100,000 dollars in 1906$3,507,377.78 dollars today
$500,000 dollars in 1906$17,536,888.89 dollars today
$1,000,000 dollars in 1906$35,073,777.78 dollars today

Inflation by Country

Inflation can also vary widely by country. For comparison, in the UK £500,000,000.00 in 1906 would be equivalent to £76,190,122,112.84 in 2024, an absolute change of £75,690,122,112.84 and a cumulative change of 15,138.02%.

Compare these numbers to the US's overall absolute change of $17,036,888,888.89 and total percent change of 3,407.38%.

Inflation by Spending Category

CPI is the weighted combination of many categories of spending that are tracked by the government. Breaking down these categories helps explain the main drivers behind price changes.

This chart shows the average rate of inflation for select CPI categories between 1906 and 2024.

Compare these values to the overall average of 3.06% per year:

CategoryAvg Inflation (%)Total Inflation (%)$500,000,000 in 1906 → 2024
Food and beverages4.0010,125.6151,128,045,249.92
Housing4.2713,754.4269,272,113,858.40
Apparel1.99917.295,086,465,617.37
Transportation3.374,893.9224,969,608,462.48
Medical care4.6120,284.73101,923,661,018.28
Recreation1.37395.432,477,134,814.53
Education and communication1.75670.193,850,939,986.31
Other goods and services4.9730,655.13153,775,668,160.37

The graph below compares inflation in categories of goods over time. Click on a category such as "Food" to toggle it on or off:

For all these visualizations, it's important to note that not all categories may have been tracked since 1906. This table and charts use the earliest available data for each category.

How to calculate inflation rate for $500,000,000 since 1906

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1906 and today:

CPI today CPI in 1906
×
1906 USD value
=
Today's value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.S. CPI was 9 in the year 1906 and 315.664 in 2024:

315.6649
×
$500,000,000
=
$17,536,888,888.89

$500,000,000 in 1906 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $17,536,888,888.89 in 2024.

To get the total inflation rate for the 118 years between 1906 and 2024, we use the following formula:

CPI in 2024 - CPI in 1906CPI in 1906
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (118 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

315.664 - 99
×
100
=
3,407%

Comparison to S&P 500 Index

The average inflation rate of 3.06% has a compounding effect between 1906 and 2024. As noted above, this yearly inflation rate compounds to produce an overall price difference of 3,407.38% over 118 years.

To help put this inflation into perspective, if we had invested $500,000,000 in the S&P 500 index in 1906, our investment would be nominally worth approximately $31,753,001,280,287.81 in 2024. This is a return on investment of 6,350,500.26%, with an absolute return of $31,752,501,280,287.81 on top of the original $500,000,000.

These numbers are not inflation adjusted, so they are considered nominal. In order to evaluate the real return on our investment, we must calculate the return with inflation taken into account.

The compounding effect of inflation would account for 97.15% of returns ($30,847,681,029,886.79) during this period. This means the inflation-adjusted real return of our $500,000,000 investment is $904,820,250,401.03. You may also want to account for capital gains tax, which would take your real return down to around $769,097,212,841 for most people.

Investment in S&P 500 Index, 1906-2024
Original AmountFinal AmountChange
Nominal$500,000,000$31,753,001,280,287.816,350,500.26%
Real
Inflation Adjusted		$500,000,000$905,320,250,401.03180,964.05%

Information displayed above may differ slightly from other S&P 500 calculators. Minor discrepancies can occur because we use the latest CPI data for inflation, annualized inflation numbers for previous years, and we compute S&P price and dividends from January of 1906 to latest available data for 2024 using average monthly close price.

For more details on the S&P 500 between 1906 and 2024, see the stock market returns calculator.

Data source & citation

Raw data for these calculations comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (CPI), established in 1913. Price index data from 1774 to 1912 is sourced from a historical study conducted by political science professor Robert Sahr at Oregon State University and from the American Antiquarian Society. Price index data from 1634 to 1773 is from the American Antiquarian Society, using British pound equivalents.

You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “$500,000,000 in 1906 → 2024 | Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 23 Nov. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1906?amount=500000000.

Special thanks to QuickChart for their chart image API, which is used for chart downloads.

in2013dollars.com is a reference website maintained by the Official Data Foundation.

Ian Webster

About the author

Ian Webster is an engineer and data expert based in San Mateo, California. He has worked for Google, NASA, and consulted for governments around the world on data pipelines and data analysis. Disappointed by the lack of clear resources on the impacts of inflation on economic indicators, Ian believes this website serves as a valuable public tool. Ian earned his degree in Computer Science from Dartmouth College.

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» Read more about inflation and investment.

Inflation from 1906 to 2024
Cumulative price change3,407.38%
Average inflation rate3.06%
Converted amount
$500,000,000 base		$17,536,888,888.89
Price difference
$500,000,000 base		$17,036,888,888.89
CPI in 19069.000
CPI in 2024315.664
Inflation in 19062.27%
Inflation in 20242.60%
$500,000,000 in 1906$17,536,888,888.89 in 2024