₹1 lakh to ₹80 cr: How forgotten JSW shares made this Redditor a crorepati

Imagine stumbling upon a forgotten piece of paper in your father’s dusty old box and realizing that it's worth a staggering ₹80 crore today. Sounds like a scene straight out of a movie, right? Well, that’s exactly what happened to a Reddit user who shared this unbelievable story of luck, patience, and the power of long-term investing.

Back in the 90s, the user’s father invested ₹1 lakh in shares of JSW Steel, a move most would have forgotten or sold off during market crashes. But thanks to sheer forgetfulness—or divine patience—the investment was left untouched for nearly 30 years. The result? An eye-popping 800 times return, turning that modest ₹1 lakh into ₹80 crore.

The real hero here is the power of compounding. With reinvested dividends, stock splits, and JSW Steel’s exponential growth over the decades, the money quietly multiplied in the background. On average, the investment delivered an annual return of around 25%, far outpacing traditional assets. By comparison, gold returned about 10% per year, real estate roughly 20%, and fixed deposits barely 6-8%.

This incredible story underscores one of investing’s greatest truths: time in the market beats timing the market. The fact that this family forgot the investment shielded them from panic-selling during market downturns or chasing hot tips. Instead, they simply let time and business growth work their magic.

The takeaway? Patience pays, and sometimes the best strategy is to ‘buy right and sit tight.’ You don’t need to track stocks daily or be a market wizard. A few good decisions held over decades can quietly create life-changing wealth.

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Maybe it’s time to check that old file cabinet or your grandfather’s trunk. Who knows? Your forgotten treasure might just be waiting to make you a crorepati.