Does Fort Knox Really Hold America’s Gold? Senator Says He Saw All 147 Million Ounces

Every American knows the popular Fort Knox conspiracy. The US government says hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of gold is sitting inside it, but skeptics believe some or all of it may no longer be there. But Republican Senator Rand Paul says he verified it. 

The Kentucky Senator reportedly had a vault tour on Monday, August 10. He says all the Fort Knox gold is there, roughly 147 million ounces.

Fort Knox Gold is There, Rand Paul Says After Going Underground

Almost nobody gets inside Fort Knox. The US Mint says outsiders have seen the vault roughly twice since it opened in 1937. Journalists and lawmakers toured it in 1974 to bury rumors of missing gold. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin looked in 2017.

The Kentucky senator became the latest exception on August 10.

At Fort Knox, we've come to see the gold!Our country has about a hundred and forty-seven million ounces of gold, and about half of it is stored here at Fort Knox.We're gonna be going deep underground to see the gold, but more importantly, we're gonna be talking today about… pic.twitter.com/qNtHkVMQzg

— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) August 10, 2026

He posted his verdict the same day, then turned the tour into an argument about the dollar itself.

“Gold does not expand when Congress spends. Paper does. That is the difference,” Paul said in the post.

He wrote that the dollar has lost 97% of its purchasing power since the Federal Reserve opened in 1913. By his count, it has also shed 85% since 1971, when President Richard Nixon cut its final tie to gold.

He further claimed the Fed absorbs a third of Washington’s $2 trillion annual deficits.

Today, I visited Fort Knox to see the gold.Since the Fed opened in 1913, the dollar has lost 97% of its purchasing power.$100 back then is worth $3,300 today. That's because Congress spends into oblivion, with no regard for our national debt. At the same time, the Fed prints…

— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) August 10, 2026

Official records add a sharper number. The Mint lists 147,341,858 ounces at Fort Knox. The books still value them at $42.22 per ounce, a price frozen in 1973.

Amount of gold reserves at Fort Knox, West Point, and Denver. Numbers taken from the U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data website.

That makes the hoard worth $6.2 billion on paper and about $644 billion at today’s roughly $4,372 gold price. The gap between those figures is the core of Paul’s argument and also fueled Trump’s earlier calls for a Fort Knox audit.

How the Fort Knox Gold Conspiracy Ignited Again in 2025

Elon Musk revived this conspiracy in February 2025, publicly asking, essentially: who has actually confirmed the gold wasn’t stolen?

Trump then said his administration wanted to check Fort Knox and suggested going there with Musk. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent responded that the gold was accounted for.

Then Trump brought the subject back again in May 2026. He said he still wanted to visit Fort Knox and “see if the gold is there,” while suggesting that theft was something worth considering.

Then came another interesting development last month. Bessent said he himself had not visited Fort Knox, although members of his staff had, including the US Treasurer, and said the gold was “present and accounted for.”

Yes, the gold is there all (approximately) 147 million ounces. It is impressive, but the real point is what it still teaches in 2026.In 1971 we severed the dollar from gold. Since then the currency has lost roughly 85% of its value. Prices are higher because the money itself is…

— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) August 10, 2026

It seems that Senator Rand Paul has now assured Republican supporters that the Fort Knox gold is all there, but skeptics will still have a hard time believing such claims without a transparent audit.

Read the article at BeInCrypto