The Bigger Meaning Of $10,000 Invested In Amazon Twenty Years Ago

BusinessPolicyThe Bigger Meaning Of $10,000 Invested In Amazon Twenty Years AgoByJohn Tamny,Contributor.Follow AuthorJun 08, 2026, 02:00pm EDTRICHMOND, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 21: The Amazon Prime logo is displayed on the side of an Amazon delivery truck on June 21, 2023 in Richmond, California. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Amazon alleging that company has deceived millions of customers into signing up for Prime subscription services and intentionally complicated the cancellation process. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)Getty ImagesIf you bought $10,000 worth of Amazon shares in 2006, your investment would be worth over $1.4 million today. You can stop reading now, or maybe not. Wayne Duggan at U.S. News & World Report calculated the above stat. For some it’s the source of awe. For others it’s the source of glee. But for exponentially more, it’s the stuff of heartache. If only they’d held on. Which is of course the point. Implied in a $10,000 investment increasing in value to $1.4 million is that no one saw it coming. While wise minds can debate just how efficient stock markets are, there’s no debating the truth that stock markets are a look ahead. Which means they price the future in the present. Thought of through the prism of Amazon’s presumed future in 2006, the markets decidedly did not see it becoming Amazon. If so, $10,000 invested in Amazon in 2006 would be worth roughly $10,000 today. Get it? The staggering returns in Amazon shares over the last twenty years raises a basic question: why does Amazon continue to face substantial antitrust scrutiny? How could it face antitrust scrutiny in consideration of where it came from? Amazon presently endures an FTC antitrust suit, among other political attacks. The suit alleges that the Seattle giant enjoys an illegal monopoly through "interlocking anticompetitive and unfair strategies.” Supposed Amazon “suppresses competition” by penalizing third-party sellers who offer lower prices elsewhere, plu...