Todd Graf
Precious Metals Advisor
Todd Graf is a seasoned Precious Metals Advisor at Scottsdale Bullion & Coin. He has a decade-long career in finance, previously at Morgan Stanley and Vanguard. He is Series 7 licensed and has extensive experience in traditional and defensive assets, providing clients with solid investment strategies.
Brian Conneely
Precious Metals Advisor
Brian Conneely is a Precious Metals Advisor at Scottsdale Bullion & Coin. He's worked in the precious metals market since 2009, trading commodities and futures before moving into physical gold & silver investing.
The legendary Fort Knox is the latest target for the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) auditing spree. Elon Musk has signaled his interest in peeking behind the curtain of secrecy to determine if the world’s largest stash of physical gold is still there (or ever was).
In this week’s The Gold Spot, Scottsdale Bullion & Coin Precious Metals Advisors Todd Graf and Brian Conneely review how much gold is supposedly held within Fort Knox, why the iconic reserve is so secretive, and what would happen if the government fails the audit.
How much gold does Fort Knox hold?
According to the US Mint’s official site, Fort Knox currently houses 147.3 million ounces, or roughly 4,469.57 metric tons, of gold bullion. This accounts for roughly half of all the Treasury’s gold holdings, which amounts to a whopping 261.5 million ounces, or 8,133.57 tons.
To put this in perspective, central banks and other official institutions across the globe hold around 37,755 tons of gold per the World Gold Council reporting–roughly 17% of the 216,265 tons that have been mined throughout history. The US’ holdings of over 8,100 tons comprises more than one-fifth of the reserves held by governments worldwide.
“4,500 metric tons–That's supposed to be the largest concentration of gold in the world. If that gold is not there, that's going to cause huge changes to the supply and demand of gold.”
Todd Graf
Precious Metals Advisor
These staggering totals are even more impressive when compared to the gold reserves of other countries. The US holds almost as much gold as the next three largest gold-holding countries combined.
The Golden Conspiracy
With all these meticulously calculated, decimal-point-specific figures, some investors question whether an audit is even necessary. Skepticism about the government’s gold reserves dates back to the abandonment of the gold standard in 1971, when some Americans began to doubt the official numbers. Over the decades, the conspiracy of an empty Fort Knox has ebbed and flowed in popularity—recently gaining traction under the DOGE spotlight.
The secrecy surrounding Fort Knox has only fueled suspicions. After all, the last official audit took place more than 72 years ago. The official explanation that Fort Knox is shrouded in secrecy is for security reasons. As the US Mint explains, “the actual structure and content of the facility is known by only a few, and no one person knows all the procedures to open the vault.”
A Short History of Fort Knox Audits
As DOGE tears through government inefficiency and waste, it’s only fitting that Fort Knox becomes a target. The infamously secretive stronghold has only undergone a handful of independent reviews over the centuries. The last official, external audit fell under the Eisenhower administration in 1953, but the perfunctory search only included politicians and journalists rather than trained officials.
In 2017, then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was given access to the gold reserves for a brief inspection, concluding the gold was “safe.”
Steven Mnuchin, 77th U.S. Treasury Secretary at Fort Knox 2017
The US Mint performs routine internal audits, which usually include inspecting small samples for storage compliance, quality issues, and record consistency. Still, the public’s appetite for a comprehensive, independent audit by an external organization has been desired for decades.
What if Fort Knox’s gold isn’t there?
DOGE’s intended audit of Fort Knox is quickly taking shape as President Trump wants to join, and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul signals his support. If the vaults were discovered empty (or holding significantly less than the official claims), the fallout would be dramatic, although the specifics would depend on public perception, market dynamics, and government response.
Regardless, the immediate aftermath would likely send gold prices soaring for a few reasons:
🤨 Tanking US Credibility – Empty vaults would mean the US government either lied for decades or overlooked one of the largest heists in history. Either possibility deals a significant blow to the country’s credibility, calling into question its trustworthiness in all financial matters. This breach of trust would likely drive investors to secure physical gold bars and coins.
🔒 Tightening Supply – Even if a small portion of Fort Knox’s gold were found to be missing, it would instantly erase a significant share of the world’s estimated gold supply. This sudden contraction in supply could trigger a sharp price surge, driven by basic supply and demand dynamics.
🚀 Soaring Gold Demand – If these conspiracies were proven true, gold demand could spike dramatically—leading to ETF runs, surging dealer premiums on physical bullion, and soaring values for pre-1933 investment-grade coins, prized for their historical protection against government confiscation.
👉 Suggested Video: Gold Confiscation: A Timeline of Events
Trump’s Impact on Gold
The Fort Knox audit is the latest development in the unraveling story of Trump’s impact on gold. The yellow metal rose 45% under his first administration, which has many investors actively wondering how the yellow metal will ultimately fare under Trump 2.0.
“Now is a great time to get ahead of it. Gold prices right now are extremely low compared to what they could be if such a large amount of gold were discovered missing.”
Todd Graf
Precious Metals Advisor
To help answer this burning question, we’ve put together a NEW Report: Trump Bad for Gold?
This simple-to-follow free report explores how the metal might perform over the next four years given the president’s bold agenda. To get your hands on a FREE COPY, CLICK HERE!
