Making Money host Charles Payne addresses conspiracy theories over whether there is gold at Fort Knox.
Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could soon audit the U.S. government’s gold reserves based on the billionaire’s interactions on social media.
Musk on Saturday wrote a post on X questioning whether U.S. gold reserves are reviewed each year, to which Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., replied, “Nope. Let’s do it.”
“Who is confirming that gold wasn’t stolen from Fort Knox? Maybe it’s there, maybe it’s not. That gold is owned by the American public! We want to know if it’s still there,” Musk wrote on Monday. The post came in response to Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, claiming he has been repeatedly denied access to Fort Knox.
He later posted about “Looking for the gold at Fort Knox” with a South Park meme saying, “Annnnd it’s gone.” Musk also responded to Alex Jones on X to say, “It would be cool to do a live video walkthrough of Fort Knox!”
ELON MUSK’S DOGE PREPARES TO AUDIT US GOLD RESERVES AT FORT KNOX AFTER URGING BY SEN. RAND PAUL
SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk questioned whether gold is missing from Fort Knox and signaled DOGE could audit U.S. gold reserves. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Amid conspiracy theories about missing gold, the federal government periodically releases reports detailing its reserves of gold bullion and gold coins at its various repositories around the country. Those monthly reports include whether the gold is held in deep storage or in working stock that’s available to the U.S. Mint for the purpose of minting congressionally authorized coins.
It includes the weight of the gold reserves in troy ounces along with its book value in dollars. The book value isn’t the market value of the gold but instead refers to the total number of troy ounces multiplied by a value established by law ($42.222) that was established in 1973.
The market value of gold is about $2,900 per troy ounce as of Feb. 17, which is roughly 68 times the book value as prescribed under the 1973 law.
The Fort Knox military base in Kentucky is home to a gold bullion depository. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)
WHAT HAS DOGE CUT SO FAR?
The Treasury Department’s most recently released update was published on Jan. 31 and noted the following:
Fort Knox – Treasury reported more than 147.3 million troy ounces of gold bullion held in deep storage at the bullion depository in Kentucky, which has a book value of over $6.2 billion.
West Point Mint – Treasury reported over 54 million troy ounces of gold bullion in deep storage at the depository in West Point, New York, with a book value over $2.2 billion.
Denver Mint – The report indicates over 43.8 million troy ounces of gold bullion are held in deep storage at the depository in Colorado, with a book value of more than $1.8 billion.
The treasury holds gold reserves, some of which are used by the U.S. Mint to create coins. (iStock)
DOGE ASKS PUBLIC FOR ‘INSIGHTS’ ON POTENTIAL WASTE AT SEC
Mint Working Stock – Across all treasury facilities, the report noted over 2.7 million troy ounces of gold held as working stock for the U.S. Mint to create gold coins. The reserves held as working stock had a book value of $117.5 million.
Federal Reserve Bullion – Treasury’s report listed two line items for gold held by the Federal Reserve at its New York vault – one item listed over 13.3 million troy ounces with a book value of $564.8 million, while the other listed over 73,400 troy ounces with a book value of about $3.1 million.
Federal Reserve Display Coins – The report also listed two line items for gold coins held for display at Federal Reserve banks. One of the line items listed 1,993 troy ounces with a book value of $84,162, while the other had 377 troy ounces and a book value of $15,936.
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