They would have done if your investment period was 10-20 years, as monkeycanmonkeydo stated – it’s about the long game.
Yes, 1k over a lifetime isn’t worth it – but IMO it starts becoming worth it at around 10k – and investing bit by bit earlier on is better than going and ploughing it in all at once.
In regards to the “old rich” comment…again, don’t expect to get rich overnight – it should be about beating inflation in the medium-long term, to better the lives of your children or grandchildren…or having a bit more savings to fall back on….playing your hand the best you can.
This guy, had the right idea…