Elon Musk wants to know more about the US gold reserves stored at Fort Knox, questioning whether the gold is still intact. Over the weekend, Musk posted several comments on social media, asking if the gold was “still there” or “gone” and even calling for a “live video walkthrough” of the facility. His remarks quickly gained traction, with US Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky) responding in agreement, saying, “Let’s do it,” in support of annual audits.
Musk’s scepticism echoes past concerns about the security and transparency surrounding Fort Knox, which holds the majority of the United States’ gold reserves. Despite there being no concrete evidence that any gold is missing, the secrecy surrounding Fort Knox has fuelled decades of speculation and conspiracy theories. According to the US Mint, Fort Knox currently holds 147.
3 million troy ounces of gold, amounting to nearly 59 per cent of the Treasury’s total reserves. While the government values this gold at $42.22 per ounce, giving it a book value of approximately $6 billion, market prices exceed $2,930 per ounce, making the actual market value around $435 billion.
According to Forbes , this surpasses the valuation of Europe’s most valuable public company, luxury goods conglomerate LVMH. The US Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky, is one of the most secure locations in the world. It is not a production facility but instead functions solely as a storage site for precious metal bullion reserves owned by the.
