President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk have recently repeatedly revived a conspiracy theory that Fort Knox – home to much of the US government’s gold reserves – may have been stolen.

Billionaire Elon Musk and President Donald Trump continue to “fan the flames” of the conspiracy theory about the disappearance of gold in Fort Knox. Photo: NBC News.
For decades, Fort Knox – America’s famous gold fortress – has always been the focus of countless conspiracy theories. But recently, the fire of suspicion has been ignited more strongly than ever by two famous figures: President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk.

Since mid-February, these two powerful figures have publicly mentioned this suspicion at least a dozen times, although there is absolutely no evidence that the gold here is missing.

The ambiguous statements and calls to check the national gold vault have caused a stir in public opinion and the question “Is the gold in Fort Knox still there?” once again echoed across social networks and American media.

“Fan the flames” of conspiracy theories

The conspiracy theory that the Fort Knox gold vault was stolen or “evaporated” a long time ago is not new. It was widely reported in the 1970s, when an author named Peter Beter alleged that “a powerful group” had secretly “stolen” all the gold from the vault.

In 1974, to appease public opinion, the US Treasury invited congressmen and journalists to visit Fort Knox – the only such visit in modern history. As a result, newspapers unanimously affirmed: “The gold is still there”.

However, in mid-February, the far-right financial blog Zero Hedge unexpectedly “called out” Elon Musk in a post on the social network X: “It would be great if @elonmusk checked inside Fort Knox to make sure the 4,580 tons of gold were still there. The last time anyone went to see it was in 1974”.

Although the last sentence was untrue – the vault is audited annually – the post still attracted more than 3.3 million views and quickly caught Musk’s attention.

Fort Knox gold vault in Kentucky (USA). Photo: US Mint.

The tech billionaire immediately responded: “They probably check every year, right?”, starting a series of statements that raised doubts about the existence of gold in Fort Knox. He then shared the idea of ​​”live streaming” a tour of the gold vault, emphasizing: “Hopefully it looks great inside.”

Not to be outdone, Mr. Trump – who has always been attracted to gold and luxury – also joined in. On February 24, he announced at the White House: “We’re actually going to Fort Knox to see if the gold is still there, because someone probably stole tons of it.” Although he did not provide evidence, his statement caused the conspiracy theory to spread at a dizzying speed.

Although Musk and Mr. Trump have not taken any concrete steps to check Fort Knox, their constant mention of the topic in interviews, podcasts and political conferences has been enough to create a new wave of skepticism.

At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on February 20, Musk even joked: “We want to go there and see if anyone has painted gold over lead.”

On March 30, at a town hall in Wisconsin, when a questioner raised concerns that the Biden administration had “disappeared” the nation’s gold, Musk replied: “That’s for the president to decide, but I think it would be cool to livestream Fort Knox.”

Notably, former Treasury Secretary under Trump – Mr. Steven Mnuchin – visited Fort Knox in 2017 and confirmed: “The gold was there when I got there. I hope no one moved it. I don’t think so.”

His successor – Trump’s current Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent – also affirmed in February: “All the gold is fully managed and controlled.”

Media Effects and Political Strategy

According to experts, the Fort Knox story is not simply an absurd rumor. Mr. Aaron Klein, an economist at the Brookings Institution, commented: “The gold in Fort Knox has symbolic value of trust in the US government. Doubt about gold is doubt about the government.”

He believes that both Musk and Trump are deliberately sowing skepticism about traditional institutions, a familiar political strategy to shape the image of “outsiders” against the powerful.

“Why do people who claim to be reviving America undermine public trust?” Mr. Klein asked.

“Conspiracy theories like Fort Knox are the kind of content that works best when they build over time, like a Hollywood sequel. And in the age of social media, they can go from ‘conspiracy angle’ to policy in a matter of hours if they catch Musk’s eye,” said Bret Schafer, a fellow at the German Marshall Fund.

The “juggling” performances of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk
After the “two swords combined” of Musk and Trump, Google Trends data recorded the number of searches for the keyword “Fort Knox” reaching its highest level since 2004. Senator Rand Paul (son of Congressman Ron Paul – who opened the hearing on Fort Knox in 2011) also joined in, saying: “Let’s do it”.

Meanwhile, far-right accounts, conspiracy bloggers like Alex Jones and gold coin supporters also spoke out in support of checking the gold vault.

However, the reality remains unchanged: Fort Knox currently stores about 147.3 million ounces of gold – equivalent to nearly 4,600 tons, accounting for half of the US gold reserves, worth about $450 billion at current market prices.

This vault is not open to the public and has a security level comparable to nuclear bases.

“Nobody can go in and steal the gold there,” said Eric Thorson, a former Treasury inspector general who visited in 2011 and sent audit teams every year since.

While there is no evidence that the gold at Fort Knox has “disappeared,” Musk and Trump’s repeated references to the conspiracy theory are no accident.

Thorson said it was a way to “instill in people the sense that they are being taken advantage of and victimized,” allowing Trump and Musk to position themselves as “rescuers of America.”

“The longer you delay going to Fort Knox, the more useful the rumor becomes to those who benefit from it,” Schafer added. “If the goal is to undermine the financial system, you don’t really want anyone to come and inspect it.”