Elon Musk demands proof: Is America's gold still in Fort Knox?
Elon Musk has set his sights on Fort Knox, which holds roughly half of the United States' gold reserves, ABC News reported on Tuesday. The world's richest person and head of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) has been suggesting for some time that he wants to know if there are indeed 5,050 tons of the precious metal in the vaults.
In recent days, Musk has repeatedly posted on social media, stating that he wants "to confirm," the gold hasn't disappeared from the U.S. base. "That gold is owned by the American public! We want to know if it’s still there," he wrote. The gold stored in Fort Knox could be worth as much as $426.3 billion.
During Donald Trump's previous term, then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin visited Fort Knox, although he did not conduct an audit. According to documents on the U.S. Mint's website, the Secretary can allow a visit to the vault "when rumors persisted that all the gold had been removed from the vaults." The previous visit by a U.S. Congressional delegation and a group of journalists took place there in 1974, when the last partial audit of the assets was conducted.
The weekly magazine "Newsweek" noted that Musk is not the only person wondering whether the U.S. gold reserves have been compromised. Politicians have submitted proposals to the House of Representatives to introduce regular audits of U.S. gold reserves.
Some bars are over a hundred years old
During a 2011 hearing before the Financial Services Committee, then-Representative Ron Paul noted that there are rumors that the gold has been secretly taken out of Fort Knox and sold, while some claim that the bars stored there are actually gold-plated tungsten.
"Newsweek" pointed out that some bars have been lying in Fort Knox for 100 years or more. "Some of the bars have been sitting around since the 1920s or earlier and may be only 97 percent pure gold and may be of irregular shape and size. Some are a bit gnarly. That's not a big deal. It's easy to adjust for the differences. Still, this may come as a surprise to some."
