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The value of America’s gold hoard has topped $1 trillion for the first time as bullion smashes through record highs.
Prices surged above $3,824.50 an ounce on Monday, extending a 45% rally this year that has been fueled by safe-haven buying at a time of trade wars, geopolitical turmoil and fears of a government funding crisis.
The US Treasury holds the world’s largest stockpile — about 261.5 million ounces — locked away in vaults at Fort Knox, West Point, Denver and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
At current market prices, that stash is worth more than 90 times the $11 billion figure listed on the government’s books.
That’s because the official value of the reserves is based on a $42.22-an-ounce price set by Congress in 1973.
While Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently quashed speculation about revaluing the holdings, an update to today’s prices would hand Washington a $990 billion windfall — enough to cover about half of this year’s $1.97 trillion budget deficit.
“The $1 trillion valuation of US gold reserves is, in many ways, more symbolic than structural, but symbolism can still influence markets,” Leanna Haakons, president and founder of Black Hawk Financial, told The Post.
“Big headline numbers often validate an existing rally and can attract new investment flows into gold ETFs and futures as investors chase momentum.”
Haakons added that when “milestones like this dominate headlines, it may signal that the gold trade has become crowded.”
“That can make the market more vulnerable to investor profit-taking or sharper swings in volatility,” she said.
Haakons urged investors to “keep perspective” while noting that “this new insight into gold’s revaluation doesn’t change the fundamentals.”
“The US hasn’t suddenly gained new liquidity or spending power. This is a psychological marker, not a policy shift,” she said, adding: “Investors should be careful not to overstate its practical impact, even as the milestone highlights just how far gold has rallied in the current environment.”
Bullion has been buoyed by inflows into gold-backed ETFs and the Federal Reserve’s return to rate cuts.
Other nations including Germany, Italy and South Africa have marked their reserves to market in past decades, but US officials warn such a move could ripple through the financial system by boosting liquidity and complicating the Fed’s balance-sheet unwind.
More than half of America’s hoard sits in Fort Knox, Ky., where bars were shipped in the 1930s to shield them from potential wartime attack.
The rest is split among government depositories and the New York Fed’s cavernous vault 80 feet underground.
The US easily tops other countries on the list of those with the largest gold reserves — 8,100 tons, more than double Germany’s 3,400 tons.
China and Russia each hold about 2,300 tons, while India, Japan and Turkey trail further behind, according to IMF and World Gold Council data.
Conspiracy theories about whether the Fort Knox stash is real gained fresh fuel in February when President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk joked about checking the vault.
“We’re going to go to Fort Knox — the fabled Fort Knox — to make sure the gold is there,” Trump said at the time.
Spot gold eased back slightly to $3,814.82 an ounce in London trading Monday afternoon, but the US government’s treasure chest has already entered 13-digit territory.
