Three Wealth Builders Worth Your $1,500: A Strategy to Combat Inflation's Grip

The erosion of purchasing power has become a defining challenge for investors. Since 2020, a dollar’s buying capacity has shrunk by roughly 16%—meaning that $1,500 in cash today can purchase what would have cost $1,260 just four years ago. However, strategic equity investments offer a compelling path forward. Rather than letting capital sit idle in consumer goods with stagnant value, channeling that $1,500 into quality equities has historically delivered substantially stronger returns.

Three corporations stand out as particularly attractive candidates. Historical performance demonstrates that holdings in Amazon, AbbVie, and Vici Properties have generated gains ranging from 51% to 110% during this inflationary period—significantly outpacing the currency devaluation that eroded traditional purchasing power.

Amazon: The Multi-Revenue Powerhouse

Amazon has evolved far beyond its origins as an e-commerce platform. Today, the company operates across three major growth engines, each with substantial upside potential.

The advertising segment has emerged as a surprising strength. Despite economic headwinds in 2023, Amazon’s digital advertising revenue climbed 26% year-over-year to reach $12 billion quarterly, translating to $44 billion over the past twelve months. This resilience reflects the inherent advantage of performance-based advertising—potential customers are already browsing with purchase intent. Unlike traditional media spending, Amazon’s pay-per-click and product-placement model attracts consumers actively searching for solutions, insulating the business from broader economic cycles.

Amazon Web Services remains the dominant cloud infrastructure provider, though recent growth has moderated. AWS expanded at a 13% pace through Q3, generating $67 billion in revenue. Yet this slowdown may prove temporary. As corporate budget constraints ease and generative artificial intelligence demands skyrocket, data infrastructure requirements are poised to accelerate sharply. Combined with renewed confidence following the avoided recession, AWS represents a significant tailwind for revenue expansion.

Currently trading 18% below its 2021 peak, Amazon’s valuation multiples—including price-to-sales and price-to-operating-cash-flow ratios—sit well beneath pre-pandemic baselines despite the company’s strengthened competitive moat and revenue diversification.

AbbVie: Pharmaceutical Resilience With Dividend Growth

AbbVie represents the pharmaceutical sector’s stability and income potential. The company has maintained its commitment to annual dividend increases since spinning off from Abbott in 2013.

The immediate challenge centers on Humira, the world’s best-selling prescription medication, which peaked at $21 billion in annual sales (36% of total revenue) in 2022. Biosimilar competition is eroding this franchise. However, AbbVie’s pipeline offers compelling replacements. Skyrizi and Rinvoq are projected to deliver $17.5 billion in combined sales by 2025, expanding to exceed $21 billion by 2027. This trajectory, coupled with growth across aesthetics (Botox, Juvederm), oncology (Imbruvica, Venclexta), and neuroscience portfolios, should more than offset Humira’s decline.

The recent acquisition of ImmunoGen introduced Elahere, a commercially available therapeutic with meaningful long-term potential. This deal combines immediate revenue contribution with years of accumulated research and development expertise, broadening AbbVie’s growth runway.

With a current yield near 4% and shareholder-friendly dividend policy, AbbVie offers both income and appreciation. Pharmaceutical investments also provide defensive characteristics during uncertain economic environments, as prescription medications remain essential regardless of market conditions.

Vici Properties: Real Estate Income With Experiential Assets

Vici Properties operates as the world’s premier real estate investment trust specializing in experiential properties. The portfolio includes iconic Las Vegas venues—Caesars Palace, The Venetian, The Palazzo, MGM Grand—plus additional properties spanning fifteen states. Recent expansion into golf courses and hospitality lodges demonstrates portfolio diversification beyond gaming.

The REIT structure provides crucial downside protection. Unlike casino operators, Vici collects full rent regardless of revenue fluctuations. This was vividly demonstrated when Las Vegas essentially shut down during the pandemic; Vici maintained complete rent collection and astonishingly raised its dividend during this crisis period.

The dividend has increased annually since inception, a track record the company intends to maintain. Current financials support this objective—approximately 75% of adjusted funds from operations per share (the metric measuring REIT dividend sustainability) was required to support recent quarterly payouts, leaving comfortable room for growth. The current distribution yields 5.3%, substantially exceeding inflation rates and providing meaningful purchasing-power protection for shareholders.

The Path Forward

Positioning $1,500 in investment capital toward quality equities represents a tangible strategy to preserve and enhance wealth amid inflationary pressures. Amazon’s multifaceted revenue expansion, AbbVie’s defensive pharmaceuticals with dividend trajectory, and Vici Properties’ recession-resistant real estate income collectively offer a balanced approach to long-term wealth accumulation. These holdings reward patient investors with both capital appreciation and income generation, systematically working to restore the purchasing power that inflation threatens to erode.