According to reports, when the former US President returned to Washington on Air Force One, he said that the US government would audit the gold vault in Fort Knox, Kentucky, to ensure that the US gold reserves were accurately accounted for. "We hope everything is okay at Fort Knox, but we're going to Fort Knox - the most beloved Fort Knox - to make sure there's gold there," he said. "If there's no gold there, we'll be very disappointed."
Reports indicate that when the former president made these remarks, there were outside speculations that the US Treasury Department might re - evaluate its gold reserves. However, people familiar with the matter revealed that the former president's economic advisors did not seriously consider this approach.
Not long ago, a well - known figure on the social media platform X posted: "The government in all aspects must be completely transparent and accountable to the people, without exception... including the Federal Reserve." This figure also said that the gold in the Fort Knox vault in Kentucky should be inspected. Questioning the authenticity of the US gold reserves, this figure posted on platform X: "Who can be sure that the gold in the Fort Knox vault hasn't been stolen? Maybe the gold is there, maybe it's not. That gold belongs to the American public! We need to know if the gold is still there."
Fort Knox is a US Army base located in Bullitt County, Hardin County, and Meade County, Kentucky, with an area of approximately 441 square kilometers. The US Army Recruiting Command, the US Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps, the General George Patton Memorial, and the US gold vault storing the US Treasury's gold are all located there. It was also once the location of the US Army Armor Center and the US Army Armor School.
Data from the US Treasury Department shows that the gold reserves in Fort Knox exceed 147 million troy ounces (approximately 4,572.2 tons), accounting for 56.35% of the US federal government's gold reserves, making it the place with the largest gold reserves in the US. Currently, the US Mint Police are responsible for protecting this batch of gold.
In addition to being a storage place for gold, the Fort Knox vault also bears the heavy responsibility of safeguarding some important cultural relics and confidential documents, such as precious documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. Moreover, the vault has also been used to store strategic reserve materials in history, and its importance is self - evident.
It is worth noting that the public access policy of the Fort Knox vault is extremely strict, almost completely banning ordinary public visits. Since its completion, the vault has been closed to tourists, and only in extremely rare special circumstances are specific personnel allowed to enter. This closed - management method has undoubtedly further deepened the public's sense of mystery and curiosity about the internal situation of the vault.
As early as 1997, the US Government Accountability Office thought that the registered inventory of gold in the vault did not match the actual amount because the barcodes didn't match. In 2010, there were rumors that the gold bars in the inventory were fake, gilded tungsten cores. After WikiLeaks was established, people learned that the gold deposited there by Japan and Saudi Arabia was not even included in the ledger. The most exaggerated case was the sexual assault scandal of a well - known figure in 2011. This over - 70 - year - old chairman of an international organization had just announced that he had conclusive evidence that over 100 tons of gold in the Fort Knox vault had disappeared, and then was taken away by the US police on suspicion of sexual assault. After being bailed out, when media reporters asked about the more than 100 tons of gold, this figure chose to remain silent.
Since 1974, the US Treasury Department has never audited the gold in Fort Knox again. It only checks the seals of the vault every year. In 2017, during the former president's first term, the then - US Treasury Secretary and a senator visited the vault. After this visit, the government only made public a few blurry black - and - white photos showing the Treasury Secretary standing in front of the gold bars, but did not provide a detailed report.
It should be noted that the US is the country with the largest gold reserves in the world, and Fort Knox stores about half of the US gold reserves. If there is a problem with the gold here, it will be a big deal. The impact will not only be on the US but also on the world gold market and may even trigger serious market instability factors.
Gold reserves have many functions, such as balancing international payments, maintaining or influencing exchange - rate levels, stabilizing the national economy, curbing inflation, and improving international creditworthiness. Therefore, all countries attach great importance to gold reserves. Some countries that originally did not pay much attention to gold reserves have also attached more and more importance to it in recent years. For example, after the Russia - Ukraine conflict, Russia's gold reserves have increased by leaps and bounds.