We refine a lot of gold here at Manhattan Gold & Silver. However, it’s nothing compared to what’s under 33 Liberty Street, just five miles away. There the Federal Reserve Bank of New York stores solid gold bullion from all over the world.
Thirty-six governments store their gold bullion at the Federal Reserve. However, no one is really sure just how much gold is actually kept there. That’s because Swiss banks, famous for their privacy, do not report their gold stocks or how much they are keeping at the Federal Reserve. Still, there is enough information to make some accurate estimates.
At least 11,578 metric tons of gold are accounted for at the Federal Reserve. For some perspective, that’s 7,000 more tons than what’s kept at Fort Knox. With numbers like that, it’s believed that the Federal Reserve holds at least 25% of the world’s gold reserves – more than $400 billion.
Interestingly, the Federal Reserve doesn’t charge a storage fee to any of the countries. But, sometimes the gold has to move (due to transactions, storage logistics, etc.) – and when it does, the Federal Reserve charges $1.75 per bar. At 27 lbs. per bar, that can be some serious heavy lifting!
