Retiring in 1937: $1M grew to $7.3M on a 4% withdrawal

Retiring in 1937 with $1M and a 4% inflation-adjusted withdrawal, the portfolio grew to $7.3M after 50 years. Its worst year was 1937, when the S&P 500 lost 31.2% including dividends. The 1937-38 recession, triggered partly by tighter fiscal and monetary policy, cut stock prices about in half from their early-1937 peak.