How Much Gold Does the US Have?

How Much Gold Does the US Have?

Whether you’re doing some research for a school project or you just want to know how much us has, you’ve come to the right place. We will answer this question below.

How Much Gold Does the US Have?

According to the US Treasury, the United States currently has 261,498,926 ounces of gold that are worth $11,041,059,957. The value of the gold that the U.S has is based on a price of $42.44 per ounce of gold. Measured in weight, the U.S has more than 8,172 U.S tons of gold.

The United States has the largest holding of gold in the world at over 8,000 tons of gold. Germany comes in second with 3,367 tons of gold, and China comes in at 6th place with 1,937 tons of gold. So, if you were wondering how much gold is in the US now you know.


Which Country Owns the Most Gold in the World?

The United States is the country that owns the most gold in the world. The U.S has almost as much gold as Germany, IMF (International Monetary Fund), and Italy combined. Germany comes in second place after the U.S with 3,370 tons of gold, the IMF comes in third with 2,814 tons of gold, and Italy comes in fourth with 2,452.

Here is a list of the countries that own and have the most gold:

CountryTons of GoldPercent of Reserves
United States8,17276%
Germany3,36772%
Italy2,45267%
France2,44661%
Russia2,21920%
China1,9373%
Switzerland1,0406%
Japan7653%

Where Does the US Keep its Gold?

The US keeps a majority of its gold at a protected facility known as Fort Knox. Fort Knox is operated and maintained by the United States Department of the Treasury. Fort Knox houses the United States’ most valuable items including gold.

Fort Knox is built on land transferred to the United States from the military. Gold was taken from coastal cities, such as New York and Philadelphia and transferred to Fort Knox in Kentucky which is more inland and therefore more secure against foreign military attacks.


Why Do Countries Keep So Much Gold?

Countries, such as the US, kept so much gold in the past to pay depositors and noteholders. Noteholders are those who have paper money, such as U.S Dollars. Also, countries keep gold to support the value of their currency.

Countries in the past, including the United States, had a gold standard system where the currency (paper money) was linked to the country’s gold holdings. Today, most countries do not back their currencies with gold, instead, the currency is backed by the government that issues the currency.

Since most countries no longer back their currencies with gold, their currencies may lose their value if inflation rises rapidly. If the price of products rises too rapidly, both consumers and businesses will have to spend more to buy goods and services.

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