The Bureau of Historic Losses · Counterfactual Division
What if you'd bought Apple in 2008?
The iPhone was a year old and the GFC was raging. Buying Apple into a recession felt reckless. It wasn't.
$100 on 2008-01-02, worth today
US$4,991
As of 2026-06-12, $100 of Apple bought at 2008's open (US$5.83) is worth US$4,991 — 49.9×.
total return · dividends reinvested · USD
How much would $100 of Apple bought in 2008 be worth today?
| You'd have put in | You'd have now | Multiple |
|---|---|---|
| US$100 | US$4,991 | 49.9× |
| US$1,000 | US$49,914 | 49.9× |
| US$10,000 | US$499,143 | 49.9× |
Lump sum on the year's first trading day, total return (dividends reinvested, splits adjusted), valued at the latest close. Past performance isn't a promise — it's a taunt.
What did Apple do in 2008?
Opened
US$5.83
2008-01-02
Peaked
US$5.84
2008-01-03
Bottomed
US$2.41
2008-11-20
Closed
US$2.56
2008-12-31
Levels are dividend-adjusted, so historical figures look lower than the headline price of the day — that's the total-return lens, and it's the honest one.
Would steady buying have beaten going all in?
US$96,300 deployed as $100 a week from 2008-01-02, under four temperaments — same money, different nerves.
| All in on day one | US$4.8M |
| Steady weekly buys | US$1.7M |
| Sold dips, rebought rallies | US$1.1M |
| Traded it perfectly | US$2.1M |
“Traded it perfectly” requires knowing the future. Nobody knew the future.
The same $1,000, elsewhere
$1,000 at 2008's open, each valued at the latest close. Hindsight remains undefeated.
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