Compounding Magic: Why Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 crore takes 6 years, but Rs 9 crore to Rs 10 crore just 1

Each additional crore requires less return and less time, thanks to the snowballing effect of compounding.

Building wealth through investing can feel painfully slow in the beginning—but that’s exactly how compounding works. A monthly report shared by FundsIndia highlights while it takes 6 years to grow your money from Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 crore (assuming 12 percent annual returns), the journey from Rs 9 crore to Rs 10 crore takes just 1 year.

This isn’t just a coincidence—it’s the mathematics of compounding. The higher your investment corpus, the faster it grows in absolute terms, even if the rate of return stays the same.

Why the first crore is the slowest?

The journey from Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 crore at 12 percent annual growth takes 6 years. You’re essentially doubling your money. But when you move from Rs 2 crore to Rs 3 crore, you need only a 50 percent of the existing corpus—and that takes just 3.5 years.

From there, it gets easier:

Rs 3 crore to Rs 4 crore needs 2.5 years
Rs 4 crore to Rs 5 crore needs 2 years
Rs 5 crore to Rs 6 crore needs 1.5 years
Rs 6 crore to Rs 7 crore: needs 1.4 years
Rs 9 crore to Rs 10 crore needs 1 year

Each additional crore requires less return and less time, thanks to the snowballing effect of compounding.

This data drives home an important truth: the biggest gains in investing come later, when your capital base is larger. Most people give up early, frustrated by the slow initial growth. But those who stay invested see their money working harder for them over time.

Imagine this: if you’re at Rs 6 crore, you’ll add another crore in 1.4 years, almost five times faster than it took to go from Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 crore. And by the time you’re at Rs 9 crore, it takes just a single year to add another crore—almost on autopilot.

The key takeaway is wealth creation is not about chasing high returns. It’s about giving your money enough time in the market. The first few years test your patience; the later years reward it.
So, the next time you feel your investments aren’t growing fast enough, remember this: the first crore is the hardest. Stay consistent, stay invested—and let compounding do the heavy lifting.