DOGE Aims to Possibly Audit Fort Knox and Its Gold Reserves, with Rand Paul Supporting the Initiative – One America News Network
OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
6:48 PM – Monday, February 17, 2025
The head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Elon Musk, has been encouraged by Republican politicians to direct his focus toward the United States Bullion Depository, commonly referred to as Fort Knox, which is known to be one of the most secure places globally.
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In reaction to the tech billionaire’s comments concerning the vault, GOP Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky called for an investigation into the vast gold reserves stored there, estimated to be worth about $425 billion according to current market values.
A social media user prompted Musk to “verify the presence of the 4,580 tons of US gold inside Fort Knox,” and Musk responded to the suggestion.
“Surely it’s examined at least annually,” Musk replied to X user Zerohedge.
“Nope. Let’s do it,” Paul (R-Ky.) replied, referencing the military facility in Kentucky.
Former Representative Ron Paul (R-Texas), who is also the father of Senator Rand Paul, has previously advocated for greater transparency concerning the country’s gold reserves.
As the vaults have remained largely inaccessible for decades, it is uncertain when the last comprehensive audit was conducted.
Following past claims of misappropriation, a congressional delegation and journalists were permitted to visit the complex for the first time in 1974. In 2017, during Donald Trump’s initial term as president, former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin was again granted access to the vaults.
Additionally, several conspiracy theories alleging that the U.S. government has secretly sold gold rather than store it at Fort Knox have circulated since at least the 1970s. Musk’s newfound interest in auditing Fort Knox has led to social media users sharing amusing videos and making claims related to these theories.
Moreover, Paul’s initiative to gain access in 2010 involved proposed legislation aimed at facilitating an audit of Fort Knox. The elder Paul had carried similar sentiments that his son is now advocating.
“My stance is, let’s discover what exists there,” Paul said at that time.
Regardless, the gold was confirmed to be present during former Treasury Secretary Mnuchin’s visit in 2017 with Rep. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky), both of whom informed the media at that moment.
Since the abandonment of the gold standard in 1971, the importance of the vault has somewhat diminished. Before that change, all U.S. currency was backed by gold reserves kept in locations like Fort Knox for nearly a century.
Nonetheless, the gold stored at Fort Knox is merely another asset owned by the Federal Reserve following the cessation of the gold standard.
When the fictional villain Auric Goldfinger attempted to infiltrate the facility but was thwarted by “James Bond” in the iconic 1964 film “Goldfinger,” Fort Knox became entrenched in public intrigue.
According to the U.S. Mint, the vault reportedly contains a minimum of 9.2 million pounds of gold, which accounts for approximately half of the gold reserves held by the Treasury.
Although it stores gold from other countries as well, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in lower Manhattan technically holds the title of the largest gold vault globally.
The government maintains that the gold at Fort Knox is valued on the books at $42.22 per ounce, totaling around $6.2 billion. However, this figure is widely considered to be laughably low, as the actual worth of the stockpile is in the hundreds of billions due to current gold prices hovering around $2,900 per troy ounce, following a significant increase in value over the last year, The Post reported.
Gold shipments to Fort Knox began in 1937. The Army base in Kentucky states that by late 1941, it held the greatest quantity of gold ever stored there, totaling 649.6 million ounces.
Fort Knox is heavily fortified. The specific construction and makeup of the precious metal reserve are “known only to a select few,” as stated by the U.S. government, and “no single individual is privy to all the protocols needed to access the vault.”
The bullion vault at this Kentucky facility, which guards valuable items for the U.S. government in addition to gold, is not open to the public and has been rarely shown to outsiders.
As the DOGE leader, Musk has been involved in auditing government spending, supported by his team — which began under President Donald Trump’s administration. Trump noted that Musk’s DOGE crew started with only about “12 geniuses” and has since expanded to “almost 100 people.”
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