Located in Kentucky, Fort Knox Bullion Depository is one of the most secure areas in the entire United States. It’s also one of the largest collections of bullion in the entire world, and it all belongs to the United States. Only the Federal Reserve Bank in New York holds more gold, some of which is in trust for foreign nations, central banks, and official international organizations.
The History of Fort Knox
During the Great Depression, many Americans had lost faith in banks and financial institutions. This fear led to gold being hoarded across the nation. In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt signed an executive order banning the private ownership of gold coins, bullion, and certificates. Citizens were forced to sell their gold to the Federal Reserve which suddenly had a large amount of gold but no place to store it.
The government wanted to restore public confidence among citizens while also securely storing the government’s gold.
The U.S. government needed a safe and centralized location to store its gold. Built in 1936, the U.S. Bullion Depository, more commonly known as Fort Knox, was built 35 miles south of Louisville, Kentucky. The area was chosen due to the centralized location and to prevent coastal attacks.
How Much Gold is at Ft. Knox?
At its peak in 1971, Fort Knox held 649.6 million ounces of gold. As of 2020, Fort Knox holds approximately 147.3 million ounces of gold, according to the U.S. Mint, which is worth over $290 billion. According to estimates from the World Gold Council, that’s approximately 2.5% of all the gold ever mined across the globe. That’s a lot of gold!
While the government does move gold in and out of Fort Knox, it is a tightly controlled process and not disclosed to the public for security reasons.
Fast Facts About Fort Knox
- While presidents have visited the Army base at Fort Knox, President Roosevelt is the only president and only non-authorized personnel to inspect a gold vault in the Bullion Depository.
- Fort Knox, which spans over 109,000 acres and three counties, is not open to the public
- The last official visit to the vaults at Fort Knox was in 2017 by U.S. Treasurer Steve Mnuchin who was accompanied by U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell
- Fort Knox has been referenced in pop culture, including being featured in the 1964 James Bond film “Goldfinger”
