How Many Fort Knox Like Facilities Exist Across The World?

Nearly everyone has heard of Fort Knox.  In fact, the gold depository is regularly referenced in pop culture, namely because if the significant amount of gold that is housed in the facility.  But, what exactly is Fort Knox?  And, is it the only place where tons of gold can be found?

Despite the popularity of the name, the actual facility where gold is stored is not called Fort Knox.  Rather, it is officially known as the United States Bullion Depository.  The location of the building to the city of Fort Knox, Kentucky, however, has led many people to refer to it by its more common name. 

Put simply, Fort Knox is a facility where the United States stores large gold reserves as well as other precious items that belong to the country or that have been entrusted to the country for safekeeping.  According to experts, approximately 4,176 metric tons of gold are stored at the facility.  Unbelievably, this is not the largest gold reserve in the United States.  Rather, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in Manhattan is home to an underground vault containing approximately 5,000 metric tons of gold.  This gold is held in trust for central banks, foreign nations and other official international organizations.

The value of money throughout the world is backed by gold holdings.  Therefore, it should be expected that other gold reserves exist around the world.  Although the United States holds more gold bullion than any other country - with the nation holding approximately 2.37 times more gold than Germany, which has the second largest amount - there are literally dozens of other gold depositories located around the world.  In fact, over 100 countries have their own versions of "Fort Knox," though they do not house nearly as much gold bullion as this famous facility.

In addition to individual countries having their own gold depositories, there are also several that represent groups of countries or that have an international standing.  The International Monetary Fund, for example, is located in Washington, DC and is responsible for overseeing the global financial system by adhering to specific macroeconomic policies that have been established by its member countries. The European Central Bank, on the other hand, is located in Frankfurt, Germany and is responsible for overseeing the monetary polices that have been developed by its 15 members of the Eurozone.

Although most people will never see the significant amount of gold that is stored in reserves such as the one found at Fort Knox, most do have some gold in their homes.  For those who are interested in making some extra money with the gold they no longer want, Cash4Gold makes it possible.  At Cash4Gold, gold items are purchased from those who have gold items they no longer want, but would like to make some money off of those items.  It may not be worth all the money in Fort Knox, but it is certainly nice to put a little extra money in your pocket!