Musk Signals Looking Into Gold at Fort Knox—Here’s What to Know

The U.S. Bullion Depository in Fort Knox, Ky., on Feb. 27, 2014. Luke Sharrett/Getty Images

Tech billionaire Elon Musk indicated that Fort Knox, the Kentucky-based facility famous for storing U.S. gold reserves, could be investigated.

“Looking for the gold at Fort Knox,” Musk wrote on social media platform X on Feb. 18. “This gold is the property of the American people. I sure hope it’s still there!”

The SpaceX and Tesla Motors CEO also shared a post from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who said he was denied access to the high-security U.S. Army installation, which also houses treasures and important documents.

“Who is confirming that gold wasn’t stolen from Fort Knox? Maybe it’s there, maybe it’s not,” Musk wrote.

Last week, Musk was encouraged by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to review Fort Knox’s gold reserves.

During a Feb. 17 interview with “FOX & Friends,” Paul revealed that he has been trying to obtain greater transparency for the last decade “to make sure it’s all there.”

The Kentucky senator also believes an audit can confirm that the precious metal “still has value” and can implicitly provide “value to the dollar.”

“That’s why we don’t get rid of it. We’ve got it. The IMF has it, the World Bank has it. Most of the central banks around the world have gold, and it’s an implicit trust that the dollar still has some backing,” Paul told host Lawrence Jones.

What Is Fort Knox?

Fort Knox, officially called the U.S. Bullion Depository, was first established in 1918 and named after Maj. Gen. Henry Knox, the first U.S. secretary of war.

In 1932, it became a permanent military post. Four years later, the U.S. Bullion Depository, associated with Fort Knox, was constructed to secure the nation’s gold reserves. The first shipment of gold arrived in 1937, transported from the New York Assay Office and the Philadelphia Mint.

It is estimated that Fort Knox holds more than 147 million troy ounces, worth approximately $425 billion.

Reserves originated from various sources, including the U.S. government buying gold from other countries during World War II, international settlements and trade, and mining.

In addition, a large portion of the reserves was confiscated from U.S. citizens in the 1930s. In April 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed an executive order forcing the public to surrender their gold bullion, certifications, and coins to the government. The government paid citizens $20.67 per ounce, though a year later, it revalued gold at $35 an ounce as part of the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, generating a profit.

Demands for Fort Knox Audits

For years, there have been calls for the U.S. government to perform a comprehensive audit of Fort Knox.

In 2011, then-Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), for example, hosted a congressional hearing to speak with federal officials about his legislation to audit and inventory gold reserves at Fort Knox and other locations across the country.

“No one from Congress has been allowed to view the gold at Fort Knox in nearly 40 years,” Paul said at the time.

“This information should be published and available to the American people. This gold belongs to the people, especially since much of it was forcibly taken from them in the 1930s, and the government owes it to the people to provide them with the details of these holdings.”

In 2021, then-Rep. Alexander Mooney (R-W.V.) filed the Gold Reserve Transparency Act, which directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report on U.S. gold reserves every five years.

The bill proposed a comprehensive audit that included an accounting of all transactions, such as leases and swaps, involving U.S. gold holdings in Fort Knox and other facilities.

H.R. 3526 failed to advance through Congress.

A worker polishes gold bullion bars at the ABC Refinery in Sydney on Aug. 5, 2020. David Gray/AFP via Getty Images

A thorough audit of the country’s gold reserves, including at Fort Knox, “is several decades overdue,” Jp Cortez, executive director of the Sound Money Defense League, a sound money advocacy group, told The Epoch Times.

“There are legitimate questions about the status of America’s gold holdings.”

He says that in addition to an in-depth physical accounting for U.S. gold reserves, issues surround claims to the nation’s metal holdings.

“Have any gold reserves been swapped, pledged, leased, or otherwise entangled in financial transactions? Has any U.S. gold been mobilized by the Bank of International Settlements, the International Monetary Fund, the Fed, or others?” Cortez asked.

Official Accounts

The last comprehensive audit of Fort Knox’s gold holdings was completed in September 1974. Then-Treasury Secretary William E. Simon invited congressional officials to visit the facility and welcomed the press to witness the congressional inspection.

“The Mint is clearing away cobwebs and reassuring the public that their gold is intact and safe. For the first time photographing is being permitted inside the Depository,” said then-director of the U.S. Mint, Mary Brooks.

Critics have questioned the veracity of this audit, with the Sound Money Defense League calling it “a peek-a-boo glance at the gold in fine Hollywood style.”

The group notes that no gold bar was examined for purity, serial numbers were not compared against official records, and the full tally of gold bullion was not counted.

Gary T. Engel, former director of GAO’s financial management and assurance, told lawmakers in June 2011 that U.S. gold reserves are frequently published in various financial reports “and have therefore been subject to various audit efforts.”

At the same hearing, former Treasury Inspector General Eric Thorson attempted to assure Congress that the federal government knows everything about its gold reserves.

“And we know where it is. We know how much it is,” Thorson said. “And we know that it is there and none of it has been removed.”

In September 2024, the U.S. Mint released an account summary of the nation’s monetary gold stock, including at Fort Knox.

In August 2017, photos and documents were released of then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin leading a $27,000 trip to Fort Knox to view the government’s gold stockpile. Other officials, including Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), also attended.

“Glad gold is safe!” Mnuchin wrote on X after his tour.

The Epoch Times reached out to the Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Mint for comment.