FORT KNOX GOLD AND NATIONAL DEBT.


GROK


 To put the value of the Fort Knox gold into perspective relative to the U.S. federal government's interest payments on its national debt, let's break this down with the latest available data as of 12:21 PM SAST on Tuesday, July 08, 2025.

### Fort Knox Gold Value From my previous calculation, the approximate market value of the 147.34 million troy ounces of gold at Fort Knox, using a spot price of $2,450 per troy ounce, is **$361 billion USD**. ### U.S. Debt Interest Payments The U.S. federal government's interest payments on its national debt have been rising due to increasing debt levels and higher interest rates. Based on the most recent data from sources like the U.S. Treasury and USAFacts: - As of May 2025, the fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget deficit had reached **$1.4 trillion**, and the annual deficit for FY 2024 was **$1.8 trillion**. Interest payments are a significant portion of this. - According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED) data and projections, federal government current expenditures on interest payments have been escalating. For FY 2024, net interest payments were approximately **$882 billion** (based on Treasury reports and economic analyses up to mid-2024). Given the trend of rising interest rates (e.g., 10-year Treasury notes yielding around 4.5%–5% in 2025) and a national debt exceeding **$36 trillion** (as of mid-2025 estimates), interest payments for FY 2025 are projected to be higher. - A reasonable estimate for FY 2025 interest payments, based on current debt levels and interest rates, is around **$1.0 trillion to $1.2 trillion annually**. This figure aligns with recent analyses from USAFacts and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which project interest costs could exceed $1 trillion in 2025 due to a debt-to-GDP ratio approaching 125% and sustained high borrowing costs. For this comparison, let’s use **$1.1 trillion** as a midpoint estimate for FY 2025 interest payments, acknowledging the range and the fact that exact figures for the full year aren’t yet finalized as of July 2025. ### Comparison - **Fort Knox Gold Value**: $361 billion. - **Annual U.S. Debt Interest Payments**: $1.1 trillion. #### Ratio: - The value of the Fort Knox gold ($361 billion) is approximately **32.8%** of the annual interest payments on the U.S. national debt ($361 billion ÷ $1.1 trillion ≈ 0.328, or 32.8%). - In other words, the gold reserves could cover about **one-third** of the interest payments for one year if liquidated at current market prices. ### Contextual Analysis - **Debt Scale**: The total U.S. national debt is around $36 trillion (mid-2025 estimate), meaning the Fort Knox gold represents only about **1% of the total debt** ($361 billion ÷ $36 trillion ≈ 0.01, or 1%). This highlights how small the gold reserves are relative to the overall financial obligation. - **Interest Burden**: With interest payments projected to grow (potentially reaching $1.5 trillion annually by 2030 per CBO forecasts), the gold’s value would cover an even smaller fraction over time unless gold prices surge significantly. - **X Post Relevance**: The speculation in the X thread about the gold’s absence or depletion ties into this—$361 billion is a substantial sum, but it’s dwarfed by the $1.1 trillion interest burden, fueling narratives of economic mismanagement or a shift to assets like Bitcoin (as suggested by @Stub_yourtoes). ### Conclusion The Fort Knox gold, valued at approximately $361 billion, could theoretically offset about **one-third of the U.S. government’s annual interest payments** (estimated at $1.1 trillion for FY 2025). However, this is a static snapshot—selling the gold would deplete a strategic reserve, and the debt interest grows annually. This disparity underscores skepticism about the gold’s relevance in today’s debt-driven economy.

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