$3 trillion in household gold sits idle while Indian companies seek capital: Nithin Kamath flags investment paradox

Highlighting a striking contrast between the vast gold holdings of Indian households and the capital needs of Indian companies seeking growth through equity markets, Nithin Kamath, the co-founder and CEO of Zerodha, recently shared a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).


According to Kamath’s post, Indian households hold an estimated $3 trillion worth of gold, a figure sourced from the World Gold Council. He pointed out that much of this gold lies idle in lockers, contributing little to the financial ecosystem, unlike equity investments, which fund companies and drive economic expansion.





"We need better ways to financialize this gold beyond just gold loans," Kamath stated in his post.

Alongside his remarks, Kamath shared a comparative bar chart of annual returns of gold and the Nifty 500 index from 1996 to 2025. The chart visually illustrates how the performance of gold and equities has fluctuated over the years.

The data shows that both gold and equity returns have experienced periods of strong growth and steep declines. For instance, equity markets posted significant returns in 2003 (101%), 2004 (105%), and 2009 (91%)—highlighting years when the Nifty 500 delivered triple-digit calendar year gains. Conversely, there were also periods of deep negative returns for equities, such as in 2008 (-57%), 2001 (-22%), and 2011 (-26%).

Gold, on the other hand, has delivered relatively stable yet moderate returns across many years. Some notable spikes were observed in 2011 (32%), 2020 (27%), and 2024 (expected 16%), with relatively fewer years of negative performance compared to equities.

The chart also highlights the calendar year 2020 as an "Outlier," when both asset classes registered positive returns amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, with the Nifty 500 rising 16% and gold delivering 27%.

Also read: After a 50% rally, how much higher can gold and silver go this Diwali?

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