The Second World War ended in 1945 with the United States in an unprecedented position: it held the bulk of the world's monetary gold and accounted for half of global output. The Bretton Woods agreement signed the year before now took practical effect, with the dollar — fixed to gold at $35 — as the anchor of the post-war financial system. Gold's price would stay fixed for another quarter-century, but the dollar built on it was now the world's money.
Gold Price History · Bretton Woods
1945
The Dollar’s World
The war ended with America holding most of the world’s gold and the dollar poised to rule global finance.
- Average price
- $35/oz
- In 2025 dollars
- $626/oz
- Change on the year
- +0.0%
- After inflation
- −2.2%
1945 in context · real value, 1925–1965
What would $10,000 of gold in 1945 be worth today?
Run the numbers across gold, stocks, housing, and bonds — adjusted for inflation.
Calculate 1945 →How gold did in 1945
Value at year-end of $10,000 invested on 1 January 1945.
Gold $10,000 +0.0%
S&P 500 (total return) $13,582 +35.8%
US housing $11,177 +11.8%
Inflation (CPI) $10,227 +2.3%
Annual-average basis. Gold: Officer & Williamson; S&P 500 & Treasuries: Damodaran (NYU); housing: Shiller; CPI: BLS. Methodology →
Related years
Sources. Gold price: Officer & Williamson, The Price of Gold, 1257–Present (annual average); inflation adjustment by US CPI (BLS / Officer & Williamson). Asset comparison from the calculator dataset. Figures are annual averages. Full methodology →