Fort Knox: over 60 countries think they are keeping money there

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

In this place, about a quarter of all countries in the world keep their gold. And what legends and myths is it shrouded in …

Gold reserves of the world

It's no secret that every country has a gold reserve that is managed by the state finance ministry or central bank. Initially, these reserves supported the national currency. But where is all this wealth stored?

In fact, every country has its own secluded spot. So, in Russia, most of it is stored in the Central Bank's vault, and the rest of the gold stock is in its branches across the country.

But the country whose gold reserves have come off far from everyone else, judging by the data, is the United States. Just imagine, today the gold and foreign exchange reserves of the Americans amounted to 8133.5 tons. And given that the total amount of gold reserves of all countries is 33259, 2 tons, the US reserves make up the lion's share.

Main storehouse of the States

More than half of the US gold reserves (4500 tons) are stored at the Fort Knox military base, which is located in the state of Kentucky. This is more than, for example, the total reserves of gold in Germany (3377, 9 tons), and it ranks second in the world ranking of the gold reserve.

The remainder is held at West Point (1,700 tonnes), the American Mint in Denver (1,400 tonnes) and the vaults of the Federal Reserve Bank in Manhattan (400 tonnes).

Fort Knox is an isolated area that is inaccessible not only to ordinary people, but also to the president himself. The US Department of the Treasury is responsible for replenishing the data storage and their safety.

Fort Knox appeared during the Great Depression (1929-1939), in the first half of the 20th century. The economic situation in the country was precarious, so President F. Roosevelt banned citizens from owning gold coins, certificates and bullion. Because of this, the Americans were forced to sell their gold holdings to the Federal Reserve. And for almost nothing. But for the country it was a very successful move: in four years, the country's gold reserves have tripled.

About the construction of Fort Knox

The construction of the base was completed in 1936, and it took a huge amount of money. Fort Knox now occupies an area of about 400 square meters. km. The vault itself is underground: the walls, covered with concrete, are built of solid granite. The front door alone weighs about 20 tons! It was made from hardened steel. However, this door is rarely opened, only during inspections.

Fort Knox Security

It is quite understandable that the main US vault is guarded very well. So, there are even rumors that the guards have super-powerful laser weapons that can detect a moving object on their own. And also that the area around the base is mined. They also say that, in addition to gold, Fort Knox kept stocks of morphine and opium for some time: it was a kind of insurance if suddenly there were interruptions in the country with painkillers and their supplies. But where is the truth, and where is fiction, remains a mystery. Fort Knox is made impregnable by two factors: the fortress is under round-the-clock surveillance of the military, in addition, there are great difficulties in obtaining a permit to visit the storage facility. The base also has a staff of 30,000 soldiers and a whole arsenal of tanks and helicopters that will easily eliminate any threat.

Myth or reality

But the most curious question is not about the protection of Fort Knox, but about the real amount of gold. The last time a full audit was carried out in the 1950s, and some audits were in the 1970s. And the amount of reserves has not changed much over the past decades, which is also surprising, here are the official figures:

1970 - 9839, 2 tons;

1980 - 8221, 2 tons;

1990 - 8146, 2 tons;

2000 - 8136, 9 tons;

2010 - 8133.5 tons;

2017 - 8133, 5 t.

And public attention to the US gold reserve was suppressed in every possible way, and this gave rise to many theories about the real state of affairs:

For example, some believe that gold is indeed located in Fort Knox, but it is no longer the property of the United States. It is believed that gold is in storage, but in a much smaller amount, and most of it was sold long ago or used for credit operations. there is a theory that gold reserves are equal to the stated figures, but the bars were mostly replaced with fake ones.

Well, there is also a version that America's gold and foreign exchange reserve has become empty due to the fact that the country has huge debts to banks.

Guesses, of course, guesses, but the fact is, in 1971, President Nixon suspended the convertibility of the dollar into gold. At that time, the rationale was as follows: the discrepancy between the real purchasing power of the dollar relative to the declared gold parity. However, by the 1970s, the dollar had become so popular in the marketplace that it remained the primary reserve currency. And yes, Nixon's decree was never canceled, which means that the dollar is not backed by gold.

And more interesting facts about Fort Knox and the US gold reserve

Fact number 1. For many decades, gold was taken from the storage in very small quantities, only to check its purity.

Fact number 2. In the 1940s, during the Second World War, the highest gold reserves were recorded: 20 205 tons. Just imagine, this is more than 500 railway cars!

Fact number 3. The weight of a standard gold bar is 11.34 kg.

Fact number 4. The construction cost of Fort Knox was $ 560,000 and was completed in December 1936.

Fact number 5. Earlier, Fort Knox also kept the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, Articles of Confederation, Lincoln's address, three volumes of the Gutenberg Bible.

Fact number 6. The access code to the door of Fort Knox is divided into parts between people, no one knows completely this code.

Fact number 7. During World War II, other valuables were also kept at the base, including the royal regalia of Britain. Also, many European countries temporarily transported their gold here, fearing the invasion of the Germans.

Fact number 8. The gold reserves of many countries are kept in the United States. There are about 60 of them in total, but data on them are not published. For example, 45% of Germany's gold is also stored in the States.

Fact number 9. Since most of the gold reserves are in the United States, the United States also controls the IMF's gold reserves.

Fact number 10. During the election period, Donald Trump promised to conduct a comprehensive audit of the Federal Reserve System after the inauguration, as he believes that the real gold reserves in the US vaults do not correspond to the declared ones.

P. S

Well, a minute of patriotism and a few words about Russia)) After all, everyone is probably wondering what line Russia occupies)

So, Russia now ranks 5th in the official ranking of gold reserves among countries. Gold reserves are 1615.2 tons for 2017. Since 2010, this figure has increased significantly (788.6 tons).