Musk and Trump fan flames of Fort Knox gold conspiracy theory
The baseless conspiracy theory that the Fort Knox gold might be gone, spread by Musk and Trump, was also popular in the 1970s.
President Donald Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk have fanned the flames of a baseless rumor about America’s gold reserves at least a dozen times since mid-February.
The conspiracy theory, alleging without evidence that someone might have stolen the gold reserves from Fort Knox, Kentucky, has circulated for decades, but it seems to have first appeared on the Trump administration’s radar after far-right financial blog Zero Hedge tagged Musk in a post about the idea on X.
Since then, Musk and Trump have shared the idea and teased plans for a personal inspection of the fortress that holds the government’s gold bars.
Despite raising alarm and fueling conspiracy chatter online and offline, there is no evidence that any gold is missing, and there’s no indication that Musk or Trump has taken any concrete steps toward visiting Fort Knox. A White House spokesperson declined to comment on their plans, saying in an email: “No announcements at this time.”
The rumor immediately found an audience, including gold obsessives who have nurtured conspiracy theories about government gold reserves for more than 50 years. Many of them stubbornly reject the evidence that Fort Knox is secure, and they interpret its security measures as evidence that the government is hiding something.
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