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Gold is very inert, yes, but it still gets beaten by copper when it comes to conductivity [0] which is why conductors are rarely ever made out of gold instead of merely gold-plated.

Gold's industry use remains negligible in the great scheme of things and only a very small fraction of its value is derived from its industrial uses. It's valuable but not that valuable.

[0] https://www.bluesea.com/resources/108/Electrical_Conductivit...

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Gold’s industrial use is low because of it’s high price not it’s utility. Drop it’s price by say 95% long term and it’s use by industry would dramatically increase, and mining would tank. Eventually after the already mined gold was used up it’s value would shoot back up.

Conversely, this means it’s value as a hedge is also going to stay. Some can take gold today burry it in a hole and know it’s going to still be valuable when they or their descendent pulls it out of the ground in 50 years. It’s not going to appreciate they way stocks do, but it’s also not going to 0 the way stocks occasionally do either.

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