Finance
Trump says his administration will check Fort Knox ‘to make sure the gold is there’
President Donald Trump said his administration is going to audit the U.S. gold reserves kept at Fort Knox in Kentucky.
“We’re going to go to Fort Knox, the fabled Fort Knox, to make sure the gold is there,” President Trump said Wednesday on Air Force One.
A drive to audit Fort Knox has gained steam from comments by Elon Musk on X recently. Over the past few decades, conspiracy theories have emerged from time to time about whether the government is being truthful about the amount of gold stored there because of the fort’s high security.
The Treasury Department gives the exact amounts of the U.S. gold reserves on its website and says there are 147,341,858.382 troy ounces in Fort Knox.
“I think if this administration presses for an audit, that’ll be a good thing for everybody,” said Alamos Gold CEO John McCluskey on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Thursday.
Gold futures, 1 year
Treasury Secretary Bessent’s comments from earlier this month, to “monetize the asset side of the U.S. balance sheet for the American people” also added to recent investor speculation that the U.S. government should audit its gold reserves and perhaps revalue them. The Treasury Department’s current gold holdings are priced at $42 per ounce, a level that is set by law and hasn’t changed since 1973.
Spot gold on Thursday rose, hitting another record high of $2,954.69 earlier in the session. That’s bullion’s tenth record high of the year.
‘The Big Money Show’ co-hosts discuss buy now, pay later spending options and the impact it will now have on your credit score.
Small, everyday purchases like a meal from DoorDash are now able to be financed through eat now, pay later options — a practice that some experts deem “predatory.”
“You’ve got to have enough sense to not follow the urge to finance a taco, okay? You have got to be an adult,” career coach Ken Coleman told “The Big Money Show,” Wednesday.
“This is predatory, and it’s going to get a lot of people in deep trouble.”
RISKS OF BUY NOW, PAY LATER: ‘TICKET TO OVERSPENDING,’ EXPERT SAYS
DoorDash and Klarna are now partnering up to extend buy now, pay later options to consumers. (Reuters, Getty / Getty Images)
Financial wellness experts are continuously sounding the alarm to cash-strapped consumers, warning them of the devastating impact this financial strategy could have on their credit score as some lenders will begin reporting those loans to credit agencies.
Consumers may risk getting hit with late fees and interest rates, similar to credit cards.
“So your sandwich might show up on your FICO score, especially if you pay for it late,” FOX Business’ Jackie DeAngelis explained.
EXPERTS WARN HIDDEN RISKS OF BUY NOW, PAY LATER
Major players like Affirm, Afterpay, and Klarna have risen to prominence at a time when Americans continue to grapple with persisting inflation, high interest rates and student loan payments, which resumed in October 2023 after a pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ramsey Solutions personal finance expert and ‘The Ramsey Show’ co-host George Kamel discusses the ‘buy now, pay later’ craze and the trend that celebrates the financial benefits of being childless.
“The Big Money Show” co-host Taylor Riggs offered a different perspective, suggesting that company CEOs have a “duty” to attract as many customers as they want.
“Unfortunately for me, this always comes down to financial literacy — which I know is so much in your heart about training people to save now by later,” she told Coleman, who regularly offers financial advice to callers on “The Ramsey Show.”
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Coleman continued to come to the defense of financially “desperate” consumers, arguing that companies are targeting “immature” customers.
“I’m for American businesses being able to do whatever they want to do under the law. That’s fine. But let’s still call it what it is: it’s predatory, and they know who their customers are,” Coleman concluded, “And I’m telling you, they’re talking about weak-minded, immature, desperate people.”
FOX Business’ Daniella Genovese contributed to this report.
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