It’s been a great time to be a goldbug. Whether investors are bullish on the precious metal as a financial asset because they’re skeptical of fiat currency, worried about a broader economic collapse, or have other motivations, the spot price of gold has climbed more than 40% in the past 12 months, doubling the S&P 500’s gain during that span. No one officially holds more of the yellow metal than the U.S. government, however, and a simple accounting change could result in a roughly $750 billion windfall on the country’s balance sheet.
According to the government’s financial statements, the U.S. owns about 261.6 million troy ounces, or almost 8,200 metric tons, of gold. Those reserves are currently valued at a set rate of $42.22 an ounce, or around where the metal’s price sat in the early 1970s, producing a book value of $11 billion. At gold’s current spot price of about $2,920 per ounce, however, the market value of those holdings is nearly $765 billion.
