Rio Tinto Plc drawdown: 32.1% below the all-time high
Rio Tinto Plc is 32.1% below its all-time high, set May 16, 2008 (as of market close, Sep 30, 2026). The chart shows every day as a percentage of the highest level reached up to that point: 100% means a fresh record, everything below is a drawdown.
- Below all-time high
- −32.1%
- 67.9% of ATH
- All-time high
- $138.73
- May 16, 2008
- Time below the high
- 18.4 yrs
- since May 16, 2008
- Worst-ever drawdown
- −89.1%
- Dec 4, 2008
- Longest underwater
- 18.4 yrs
- between all-time highs
- Today's level first reached
- Nov 8, 2007
- 18.9 yrs ago
- Last time this deep
- Oct 9, 2002
- in a previous episode
% of all-time high since 1990#
The classic underwater chart (drawdown curve), drawn as % of the all-time high — 100% is a fresh record, everything below it is time spent underwater. Basis and range are in the URL, so a particular view is a link.
The deepest drawdowns on record#
Every decline of 15% or more from an all-time high (price basis), deepest first.
| Peak | Trough | Depth | Peak → trough | Recovered by | Underwater |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 2008 | Dec 4, 2008 | −89.1% | 7 mo | not yet | 18.4 yrs+ |
| Jun 24, 1997 | Aug 31, 1998 | −48.8% | 14 mo | Jul 6, 1999 | 2.0 yrs |
| Jan 7, 2000 | Sep 21, 2001 | −43.0% | 1.7 yrs | Oct 13, 2003 | 3.8 yrs |
| Nov 9, 2007 | Jan 22, 2008 | −30.7% | 2 mo | Apr 15, 2008 | 5 mo |
| Jul 9, 2007 | Aug 16, 2007 | −28.1% | 38 days | Sep 21, 2007 | 2 mo |
| Aug 1, 1990 | Sep 24, 1990 | −28.1% | 54 days | Apr 13, 1992 | 1.7 yrs |
| May 10, 2006 | Sep 25, 2006 | −26.5% | 5 mo | Apr 13, 2007 | 11 mo |
| Jan 6, 2004 | May 14, 2004 | −25.2% | 4 mo | Nov 24, 2004 | 11 mo |
Price basis (no dividends) — the convention crash histories use. With dividends reinvested, recoveries arrive years earlier; switch the basis on the chart above to see it.
Drawdown vs what came next#
One dot per month since 1990: how far Rio Tinto Plc stood below its all-time high, and the total return over the following 1, 5 and 10 years.
Read this with survivorship bias in mind: a single asset's history is one surviving sample, so past recoveries here say little about the odds ahead. Monthly windows also overlap heavily (they are not independent samples). Not investment advice.
FAQ#
- How far is Rio Tinto Plc from its all-time high?
- Rio Tinto Plc is currently 32.1% below its all-time high, set May 16, 2008 (as of market close, Sep 30, 2026). Prices only, the convention headlines use; with dividends reinvested the gap is usually smaller.
- What was the biggest Rio Tinto Plc drawdown ever?
- The deepest decline on record in our data (since 1990) took Rio Tinto Plc 89.1% below its prior high, bottoming Dec 4, 2008. The table on this page lists every major episode with its peak, trough and recovery date.
Methodology & related#
Daily data since -1 from RIO; no free deep history exists for Rio Tinto Plc — for a 150-year drawdown record see the S&P 500 drawdown page. The price basis excludes dividends; the total-return basis reinvests them; the real basis additionally deflates by CPI. See also returns by year. Past performance does not predict future returns; not investment advice.