Michelle Makori interviews Alasdair Macleod about Fort Knox audit calls, gold revaluation, China/Russia gold policy, and a coming fiat-currency breakdown. Macleod’s core view is maximalist: he argues a Fort Knox audit will not happen because it could expose missing U.S. gold and destabilize the dollar, while the broader fiat system is already entering a debt trap that could end in currency collapse, hyperinflation, and a dramatic rise in gold measured in dollars.
Watch on YouTube ›Get the market thesis, key claims, assets, contradictions, and follow-up questions from any financial video — then unlock a version personalized to your portfolio, watchlist, and favorite speakers.
This episode is a focused interview about the implications of auditing Fort Knox, but it quickly widens into a much broader thesis about the end of the fiat currency system. Alasdair Macleod argues plainly that a real audit of U.S. gold reserves is unlikely because the result would be politically and financially destabilizing for the Treasury, the Fed, and the dollar. He says the U.S. has strong incentives to avoid reopening the question of whether the gold is actually still there, and he frames the entire controversy as part of a deeper monetary regime shift away from post-Bretton Woods dollar supremacy. Macleod’s supporting logic is built on several linked claims: historical gold leasing and swaps may have moved large amounts of sovereign gold out of official vaults; China and Russia may have accumulated far more gold than publicly acknowledged; and the U.S. …
Tactically, the setup is bearish for confidence-sensitive dollar assets if audit rhetoric, Treasury stress, or commodity shocks intensify. Near-term risk is that gold volatility and headline-driven fear trade can become crowded quickly.
Over the next few months, the base case in this interview is continued pressure on fiat credibility, with gold favored if Treasury yields rise and foreign buyers stay cautious. Confirmation would come from persistent reserve diversification and stronger hints that China or Russia are preparing gold-linked settlement.
Structurally, the view is that the post-Bretton Woods dollar system is in terminal decline and that gold is reasserting itself as a neutral reserve asset. If that regime shift continues, the lasting implication is not just higher gold prices but a more fragmented monetary order.
A full Fort Knox audit is unlikely to happen because it would undermine confidence in the dollar and U.S. government finances.
He gives two reasons: post-Bretton Woods doctrine and the possibility that missing gold would be exposed.
A significant portion of official gold may no longer be present in the vaults because of historical leasing and selling activity.
He cites Frank Veneroso and the idea that a third to half of central bank gold had been out on lease.
China likely accumulated massive gold reserves between 1983 and 2002 as part of its foreign exchange activities.
He argues Beijing bought gold quietly and concentrated it in official hands before the Shanghai Gold Exchange opened.
Do you think a full audit of Fort Knox should happen, what do you think would happen, and what would we find?
Alistair doesn't think the audit will happen, comparing it to an old Chinese saying about a poor man hiding the hole in his carpet. He says the Treasury has two reasons for avoiding it: 1) their longstanding post-Bretton Woods position that gold is no longer part of the monetary system, and auditing gold would undermine the dollar; 2) any incoming Treasury Secretary is quickly told 'do not go there.' He believes a lot of the 8,130 tons of gold claimed to be there is actually not there, based on Frank Veneroso's analysis that up to half of central bank gold was leased and sold into the market in the 80s and 90s. He suspects the gold ended up with China via the People's Bank of China, which accumulated perhaps 20,000 tons between 1983 and 2002, and that this gold came mainly out of US reserves and some from earmarked gold at the New York Fed.
Within two or three years, do you see hyperinflation and collapse of the US dollar?
Alistair absolutely agrees, saying there will be a complete collapse of the currency. He elaborates that within two or three years, gold measured in collapsing dollars will be 'somewhere closer to infinity than it is today,' and urges people to get out of credit, especially currencies, and go into money without counterparty risk — gold and possibly silver.
Do you assume President Trump is not aware that the gold is not there? Why is he calling so much attention to this?
The guest thinks Trump probably realizes it but has been told by officials (like Bessent) not to push the topic. He says Trump would have been made clear under great secrecy that this is off limits. The guest notes Bessant himself was a gold bug before becoming Treasury Secretary who previously said the US should monetize its gold assets.
Unlock the full claims, asset map, scores, related transcripts, follow-up questions, and AI chat — shaped around your portfolio, watchlist, favorite speakers, and risks.
