Senator Rand Paul took a trip to Fort Knox on Monday to answer a question that has fueled rumors and conspiracy theories for decades: Is America’s gold actually still there?
According to Paul, the answer is yes.
The Kentucky Republican traveled to the U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox in northern Kentucky, where roughly half of America’s gold reserves are stored. The visit gave Paul an opportunity not only to inspect the famous stockpile but also to make a broader argument about inflation, federal spending and the declining purchasing power of the dollar.
“I’m at Fort Knox. We’ve come to see the gold. Our country has about 147 million ounces of gold, and about half of it is stored here at Fort Knox,” Paul said before entering the facility.
The visit attracted attention because comprehensive public inspections of the nation’s gold reserves have been exceedingly rare.
According to the U.S. Mint, the last full audit of America’s Fort Knox gold reserves occurred in 1953. A partial inspection followed in 1974. That long gap has helped produce decades of speculation about what is actually sitting inside the heavily guarded depository, including claims that some of the gold had supposedly been replaced with gold-plated tungsten.
Paul went inside and emerged with a straightforward verdict.
“Yes, the gold is there all (approximately) 147 million ounces. It is impressive, but the real point is what it still teaches in 2026,” Paul said afterward.
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
And that was where Paul’s Fort Knox visit turned from a gold inspection into a lesson on Washington’s spending habits.
“We’re going to be going deep underground to see the gold, but more importantly, we’re going to be talking about what happened to the dollar when we separated from gold in 1971,” Paul said. “Over 85 percent of the value of the dollar has been lost since we de-linked from gold.”
“So there is a problem. The media now calls this affordability, but what it really is is inflation.”
Paul has spent much of his Senate career warning about federal deficits, government debt and monetary policy. Fort Knox provided him with a rather impressive backdrop for making the argument.
“We run a debt. As the deficit runs up, $2 trillion a year, part of that debt is bought by the Federal Reserve with newly created dollars. This leads to inflation, and prices are up,” Paul explained. “Prices are up 25 percent in the last five years. It’s inflation. It’s related to deficit spending. It’s related to unbalanced budgets.”
Later, Paul broadened the comparison even further.
“The dollar has lost 97% of its purchasing power since the Fed opened in 1913. $100 then is worth just over $3,300 today. This is no accident. Congress spends without limit, while the Fed prints the difference,” he said.
I visited Fort Knox today.
The dollar has lost 97% of its purchasing power since the Fed opened in 1913. $100 then is worth just over $3,300 today.
This is no accident. Congress spends without limit, while the Fed prints the difference. https://t.co/TmeJw3ZkJv
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) August 10, 2026
Whatever Americans think about returning to a gold-backed monetary system, Paul’s underlying complaint about Washington is difficult to ignore: politicians have become remarkably comfortable spending money they do not have.
Fort Knox’s gold may still be safely underground, but American families live above ground, where groceries, housing, insurance and countless everyday expenses have become considerably more expensive.
That makes Paul’s trip more than an entertaining investigation into whether bars of tungsten were hiding behind the vault doors.
The gold was there.
The purchasing power Americans have lost over generations is another matter entirely.