The Human Cost of Gold | National Geographic Magazine: The door at the vault to the NY Fed says: “Gold is Irresistible.”

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The door at the vault to the NY Fed says: “Gold is Irresistible.”

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York holds FIVE percent of the world’s 161,000 tons of gold. That means they must have over 8,000 tons.

At recent prices, one 28-pound gold bar held by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is worth more than a half million dollars. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York—one of twelve regional capital reserve banks in the system—is located in the heart of the financial district in downtown Manhattan. Moving gold bars just a few feet from one storage closet to another can shape the balance of financial power between nations.