Trump Confirms Fort Knox Audit, But Gold Slips As Bessent Downplays Revaluation Rumors

Having started the ‘Audit Fort Knox’ discussion last week…

Surely it’s reviewed at least every year?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 15, 2025

With our suggestion immediately going viral on X, with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) indicating he’s on board – replying to Musk with “Let’s do it.”

Nope. Let’s do it. https://t.co/4sgVpaCwwz

— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) February 16, 2025

…we were pleased to see that during comments to the press aboard Air Force One, President Trump announced that he and Elon Musk’s DOGE are going to open up Fort Knox and make sure all the gold that is supposed to be there is present.

“We’re going to go to Fort Knox make sure the gold is there,” Trump said, adding “if the gold isn’t there we are going to be very upset.”

JUST IN: President Trump announces there WILL be an audit of the gold reserve at Fort Knox

Elon Musk has proposed a DEEP dive & LIVESTREAM into the Treasury & our gold reserves

“We’re going to go to Fort Knox make sure the gold is there,” Trump said
pic.twitter.com/Yrxes7dffk

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 20, 2025

Musk has suggested doing a live stream from the facility where over 4500 tons of gold belonging to the American people is supposed to be stored. 

As a reminder, Fort Knox has not been audited since the 1970s and not comprehensively since 1953.

However, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was a little more pragmatic during an interview on BloombergTV, downplaying the Fort Knox ‘missing’ gold narrative and the rumor of a potential revaluation of the precious metal pile.

When discussing plans for a sovereign wealth fund, Bessent said revaluing US gold reserves is “not what I had in mind.” 

That appeared to play down the idea of revaluing reserves from the $42-an-ounce price set in 1973 to current market prices, which would deliver a one-time windfall of around $750 billion for the government and thereby reduce the need to issue bonds. 

The Treasury Secretary also said he had no plans to visit Fort Knox -  where much of the US gold reserve is kept – adding that “all the gold is there” and any senator is welcome to visit to see it. 

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says, “all the gold is there,” as he has no plans to visit Fort Knox or to revalue gold reserves in a sovereign wealth fund https://t.co/jjpfgt8acn pic.twitter.com/cmgYtVoPr6

— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) February 20, 2025

Any Senator that is except Mike Lee?

As a U.S. senator I’ve tried repeatedly to get into Fort Knox

Fort Knox: “You can’t come to Fort Knox.”

Me: “Why?”

Fort Knox: “It’s a military installation.”

Me: “I’m a senator; I go to military bases all the time.”

Fort Knox: “You still can’t come. Because, you can’t.” https://t.co/3V2jlU4SNX

— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) February 17, 2025

The combination of Trump and Bessent’s comments sent the precious metal initially to a new record high price of $2954, before fading back to  $2925…

The barbarous relic has hit successive records this year, after climbing 27% in 2024; and as we detailed here this week, Goldman raised its year-end target to $3,100 an ounce, saying that stronger-than-expected central-bank buying would be a key driver for prices.