The Federal Government isn't a model I generally want to mimic when planning my long term investment strategy.
Our leaders have proven many times their incompetence at handling taxpayer funds.
However, in this instance we can borrow some of their techniques to successfully accomplish our long term goals.
Here's how.
Using the US Government for Our Investment Model/Is There Still Gold in Fort Knox? In 1936 the US Treasury Department began construction of the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Gold bullion and coins were shipped there in 1937 resulting in the majority of this country's gold reserves being stored there.
During World War II, several European countries also stored their gold and other valuable items at Ft.
Knox to protect them from possible destruction.
The vaults are practically indestructible.
At least you couldn't destroy the vault walls without also destroying the contents.
No visitors are ever allowed inside the depository grounds.
Only Mint and Treasury officials are allowed inside.
Reported gold stocks were the highest during World War II at 20,205 metric tons.
Today the holdings are closer to 4,578 metric tons.
That equates to 368,000, 400 troy ounce gold bars.
To get an idea of the space this amount of gold takes up, it would be a cube of 20.
3 feet all 3 dimensions.
Basically, all the gold this country has would fit into a two car garage with a loft.
All the gold ever produced in the history of the world is 165,000 tons, or about 40 times more gold than stored in Ft.
Knox.
The United States still holds more gold than any other single country and about 2.
4 times as much as the next leading country, Germany.
When you consider that Germany is about the size of Montana, that's an impressive amount of gold.
There have been many rumors that Ft.
Knox contains no gold or a lot less than reported to the public.
The last decent audit was done over 50 years ago.
All attempts at public disclosure of the actual amount of gold stored in Ft.
Knox have failed.
Ft.
Knox's gold is only an asset on the Federal Reserve's balance sheets, and not a part of the U.
S.
monetary system anymore.
People have campaigned to have the gold sold to the public for their use, rather than being just stored.
That won't happen anytime soon, because it would drive the price of gold down to affordable levels.
The real reason gold won't be sold from Ft.
Knox comes from something Alan Greenspan told Ron Paul many years ago.
Ron Paul asked Greenspan why the Federal Reserve held on to their gold reserves, and Alan Greenspan replied "Just in case we need it.
" Even the Federal Reserve believes gold is the only form of real money, even though they don't come out and directly state that.
That's also why you should have physical gold in your investment portfolio.
As I've written in other articles, you should have long term, low interest debt for investment capital.
Use this to grow your investment for as long as you possibly can, then pay back the debt in devalued dollars, just like the U.
S.
Government does.
As well, own physical gold just like the U.
S.
Government, because it is the only real form of money "just in case you need it".