Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / Trump and Musk Demand Audit—Is America’s Treasure Missing?

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Trump and Musk Demand Audit—Is America’s Treasure Missing? · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:05
  Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
• 0:08
  I'm your host, Will Walden, and if you're new here, this is a
• 0:11
  show all about Elon Musk. It is groundbreaking work that
• 0:14
  he's doing with his various companies, including Tesla,
• 0:16
  SpaceX, The Boring Company, Neurolink, and of course, X.
• 0:21
  And before we dive into today's episode, I wanted to share a
• 0:24
  quick insight from our shows analytics.
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  subscribed to the show and thank you for that.
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  Pretty simple and straightforward.
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  It takes just a second for you, but it makes a huge difference
• 1:00
  for the show Elon Musk News. I've got a question for you.
• 1:06
  Think about this. When was the last time you
• 1:09
  thought about Fort Knox? It's probably been a long time.
• 1:13
  I remember when I was a kid, we would talk about Fort Knox like
• 1:17
  it was a mythical place. This stored all the gold
• 1:21
  reserves that the US had. Also treasures of war, relics
• 1:28
  from America's past, the Constitution.
• 1:32
  I remember there were stories about so many conspiracies about
• 1:38
  Fort Knox, but what's really going on there?
• 1:42
  And is America's gold reserve really safe?
• 1:47
  Now? That's a question that President
• 1:49
  Donald Trump and Elon Musk is asking.
• 1:53
  They're asking for an audit of the US gold reserves housed at
• 1:58
  Fort Knox. And for decades, conspiracy
• 2:00
  theories like my own have swirled around the high security
• 2:04
  facility in Kentucky, with skeptics questioning whether all
• 2:08
  the gold is still there and the government insists the reserves
• 2:12
  are intact and accounted for. But the lack of a full audit
• 2:15
  since the 50s has only fueled speculation.
• 2:18
  Now, with Trump's announcement and also Elon Musk stirring the
• 2:22
  pot a little bit on X, public interest in Fort Knox has peaked
• 2:26
  again. Now, Trump made headlines after
• 2:30
  revealing plans recently to conduct a full audit of the Fort
• 2:34
  Knox gold reserves. This is a move that hasn't been
• 2:38
  attempted in decades since the 70s, and interest in the matter
• 2:42
  gained traction following a post from Musk who openly questioned
• 2:47
  whether the gold was still in the vault.
• 2:50
  Now Musk, who now hence the newly created Doge, is expected
• 2:54
  to be involved in the inspection process.
• 2:57
  Meanwhile, Senator Rand Paul has formally requested an in person
• 3:01
  audit and set a deadline of March 19th for a visit to the
• 3:04
  facility. And according to official
• 3:07
  records, Fort Knox contains approximately 147.3 million Troy
• 3:11
  ounces of gold. the US Mint places the total value of these
• 3:15
  reserves at around $434 billion based on current market prices.
• 3:21
  However, the Treasury Department maintains an outdated valuation
• 3:25
  of $42.00 per oz, a number that has remained unchanged since
• 3:31
  1973. Now, the discrepancy has led to
• 3:36
  further scrutiny, and also critics are questioning why the
• 3:41
  government continues to use a figure from 1973 that's far
• 3:46
  below market values. Could it be that just the
• 3:49
  government's inefficiency, could it be that there was somebody
• 3:53
  that's should be in charge of this, but they just don't have
• 3:55
  the time to do it or they just don't care?
• 3:57
  Because in the 70s we got rid of the gold standards.
• 4:00
  Now, the secrecy surrounding Fort Knox has long been a source
• 4:05
  of intrigue, though civilian access to the depository is
• 4:09
  strictly prohibited, you can't get in, ever.
• 4:12
  And the last time anyone outside government circles was allowed
• 4:15
  to see the gold was in 1974, when a small group of
• 4:19
  journalists and Congress members were given a brief tour.
• 4:23
  Now, the absence of a full audit since the early 50s has only
• 4:27
  fueled theories for some that some or even all of the gold
• 4:33
  might just be gone, might be missing.
• 4:36
  He Despite repeated assurances from the Treasury Department,
• 4:39
  speculation has continued and there's no independent
• 4:43
  verification. But Treasury Secretary Scott
• 4:47
  Besent has attempted to shut down the rumors, stating
• 4:50
  unequivocally that, quote, all the gold is present and
• 4:53
  accounted for. He insists the Fort Knox
• 4:56
  undergoes routine audits, but critics argue that these are
• 4:59
  internal reviews rather than independent investigations.
• 5:03
  Former Treasury Secretary Steven Munchen, who visited Fort Knox
• 5:07
  in 2017, also reaffirmed the gold's presence, saying, quote,
• 5:11
  the gold was there when I visited.
• 5:13
  I hope nobody's moved it. I'm sure they haven't.
• 5:17
  But for many Americans, these reassurances aren't enough.
• 5:21
  Now, Elon Musk's involvement has also put some more fuel in the
• 5:25
  fire, as it usually does. He took to X to stir some
• 5:29
  speculation and he asked everybody who is confirming that
• 5:33
  gold wasn't stolen from Fort Knox.
• 5:37
  Why would he say that? That's a that's a question that
• 5:41
  you do to rile up some people, right?
• 5:43
  You troll people by saying that you wouldn't even say it.
• 5:47
  You know, like if if he's working to be efficient in the
• 5:51
  government, he wouldn't say anything about it.
• 5:53
  He would do the job, and he would continue to push forward
• 5:58
  and release the information. Then he said maybe it's there,
• 6:01
  maybe it's not, I don't know. His comments quickly gained
• 6:05
  traction, though, with thousands of users joining the debate.
• 6:08
  And while Musk has no formal authority over the nation's gold
• 6:11
  reserves, his influence in government and his position at
• 6:14
  DOGE have made him a key figure in this conversation.
• 6:19
  Now, Elon and Trump are working together, and Trump's decision
• 6:22
  to push for an audit has intensified the discussion.
• 6:25
  And during a flight on Air Force One, the former president
• 6:28
  addressed the matter directly, stating that his administration
• 6:32
  would be, quote, very upset if the gold was missing.
• 6:36
  He later announced plans for an official inspection, declaring,
• 6:39
  quote, we're going to make sure the gold is there.
• 6:41
  Now, Trump's remark have raised the stakes, putting pressure on
• 6:44
  the Treasury Department to allow a more transparent review of the
• 6:48
  reserves. You know, the demand for
• 6:50
  transparency has gained momentum recently, with some even calling
• 6:53
  for a live stream inspection of the facility.
• 6:55
  That's never going to happen. That's against all sorts of
• 6:59
  regulations. And while such an event is
• 7:01
  unlikely given the security concerns, the idea reflects the
• 7:05
  government public distrust surrounding Fort Knox.
• 7:08
  It's a it's a mythical place for most people.
• 7:11
  Also, when have you thought about it?
• 7:12
  Leave it in the comments. Senator Rand Paul, a longtime
• 7:15
  proponent of government audits, has backed Trump's proposal,
• 7:18
  arguing that a full independent review is long overdue.
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  He said the American people deserve to know if the gold is
• 7:23
  really there. Despite the heightened interest,
• 7:26
  there's no evidence to suggest that any gold is missing from
• 7:28
  Fort Knox. Rumors appear to be based more
• 7:31
  on historical skepticism than any concrete proof.
• 7:35
  Nobody's been in there, so nobody really knows what goes
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  on, so people just make stuff up and the government.
• 7:39
  Officials have repeatedly stated that the reserves remain
• 7:42
  untouched, and official records indicate that the full 147.3
• 7:46
  million ounces are accounted for.
• 7:48
  Nevertheless, the push for an audit is unlikely to subside,
• 7:52
  particularly with figures like Musk and Trump keeping the issue
• 7:55
  in the spotlight now. Fort Knox's history as a target
• 8:00
  for conspiracy theories dates back decades.
• 8:03
  During World War 2, the depository was used to store
• 8:07
  valuable national treasures, including the original US
• 8:10
  Constitution and the Magna Carta.
• 8:12
  And over time, the extreme security measures surrounding
• 8:15
  the facility contributed to its almost mythical status, the idea
• 8:20
  that the gold might be missing for skiing traction in the 1970s
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  after President Richard Nixon ended the gold standard.
• 8:28
  And since then, theories have persisted, with some alleging
• 8:31
  the government secretly sold or removed the reserves.
• 8:34
  Now, the Treasury Department maintains that all the gold
• 8:37
  holdings are properly accounted for and undergo regular audits,
• 8:40
  though these are conducted internally.
• 8:42
  And people argue that without an independent review, somebody
• 8:46
  from outside of the government, the government's word alone is
• 8:50
  not sufficient. You can't trust them, right?
• 8:52
  You can't trust the government. And some have even suggested
• 8:56
  that an audit should include third party verification to
• 8:59
  dispel any lingering doubts. Whether such a move will be
• 9:02
  approved remains uncertain. Would you consider Elon Musk a
• 9:06
  third party since he's part of Doge, but he's not part of the
• 9:09
  Treasury Department. He's outside of the government,
• 9:12
  but also inside the government. He works for the government, but
• 9:16
  he is independent in the way that he's doing this.
• 9:21
  It's an interesting question to think about.
• 9:23
  The discrepancy between the government's 42 ounce valuation,
• 9:27
  $42.00 per oz valuation in the actual market price of gold is
• 9:31
  also a point of contention. Like, why would you keep the
• 9:34
  price that low? Some analysts argue that the
• 9:37
  outdated valuation benefits the government by keeping the
• 9:39
  reported value of gold artificially low.
• 9:43
  Others believe it's simply a bureaucratic oversight.
• 9:45
  Somebody forgot to tick a box or increase the price.
• 9:49
  It's never been updated. Either way, the issue has added
• 9:52
  another layer of complexity to this debate over the US gold
• 9:56
  reserves. There's no official audit
• 9:59
  scheduled quite yet. Discussions are ongoing, though,
• 10:03
  trying to figure it out. The Treasury Department has
• 10:05
  indicated that senators interested in inspecting the
• 10:08
  gold can just arrange visits through official channels.
• 10:11
  Not a big deal And whether this will satisfy calls for
• 10:13
  transparency remains to be seen. And the date would be March
• 10:18
  19th. If they do go through with this,
• 10:21
  that's the deadline that's set by Senator Paul for an in person
• 10:24
  inspection. The pressure, the pressure on
• 10:27
  government to act will also increase in that time.
• 10:31
  But who really knows what's going on?
• 10:33
  Some see the push for an audit as a necessary step towards
• 10:36
  Government Accountability, while others dismiss it as a
• 10:39
  politically motivated stunt. Why Elon and why Trump?
• 10:43
  Why are they doing this right now?
• 10:44
  Why hasn't anybody done this before?
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  And why didn't Trump do it in his first administration?
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  If he's really concerned about transparency, he could have just
• 10:53
  got an appointment his first time around.
• 10:56
  So what's happening this time? This different than last time?
• 10:59
  Does he have more power now? Is he using more executive power
• 11:03
  to do things that maybe he just couldn't do last time?
• 11:07
  I don't know. Nobody really knows except for
• 11:10
  Trump and his closest allies. And regardless of where people
• 11:14
  stand in this conversation, the interest in Fort Knox is pretty
• 11:18
  wild right now, proving that even in 2025, the mystery of
• 11:22
  what lies behind those heavily fortified doors still captures
• 11:27
  all of our imaginations. Could you imagine walking
• 11:31
  through Fort Knox? So the, the stories were when I
• 11:34
  was a kid, you go through these big doors, big giant steel
• 11:37
  doors, four feet thick or whatever.
• 11:41
  No way to get out of this thing. It's in the side of a mountain.
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  You walk through three or four of these doors.
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  You take an elevator into a subterranean area.
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  That's where they house all of the gold.
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  That's what I was saying when I was a kid.
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  That's what we thought. It's pretty wild to think about
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  it. Laser traps everywhere.
• 12:05
  You know, there's armed guards everywhere.
• 12:08
  In reality, it's probably not super crazy.
• 12:12
  It's probably very high security, of course, but no
• 12:16
  Mission Impossible, no James Bond, nothing like that.
• 12:22
  Probably a highly secure government facility with a bunch
• 12:25
  of gold in it since we're not on the gold standard anymore.
• 12:27
  Sure, it has value, but you know, do they guard it as much
• 12:34
  or less than they used to? Only time will tell, right?
• 12:38
  Just start in the spot. Let's start in the pot a little
• 12:40
  bit there. Let me know if you have comments
• 12:43
  on your podcast platform. Let me know what you think.
• 12:46
  I think it'll be interesting to see what they come up with and
• 12:49
  actually it would be interesting to see if Elon and Trump
• 12:53
  actually go to Fort Knox or if they just wait for senators or
• 12:57
  whoever, like whatever senator decides to step up, steal the
• 13:02
  Thunder a little bit. Do it before March.
• 13:04
  Just, you know, they said if you go through the proper channels,
• 13:07
  you can get it done. So maybe a Democratic senator
• 13:10
  would step in and before Trump and Elon get there, maybe they
• 13:16
  can get the headlines instead of them.
• 13:18
  What about that, do you think? Why don't they?
• 13:20
  Why don't the Democrats also fight back against this?
• 13:24
  It's something that they'll probably fight back against a
• 13:27
  little bit. They'll probably mention it, but
• 13:29
  they won't do anything about it. But it would be a funny thing if
• 13:34
  they did if EOC or somebody just showed up and just like, hey,
• 13:37
  I'm going to check out the the reserves of gold.
• 13:41
  Now what it's interesting to think about, right?
• 13:44
  The politics of it all. Hey, thank you so much for
• 13:55
  listening today. I really do appreciate your
• 13:58
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• 14:22
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• 14:24
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