What to know about Fort Knox's gold depository that Musk wants audited

• The gold is held at a government-set book value of $42.22 per ounce. As Forbes notes, gold trades for a far higher value on the open market.

Zoom out: The fortified vaults have been the subject of swirling skepticism and shrouded by secrecy for decades. No visitors are permitted in the facility, and its doors have only opened to unauthorized personnel a handful of times.

• This week, Trump and Elon Musk, who oversees the administration's unofficial Department of Government Efficiency, seemed to lean into long-held conspiracy theories about whether the government was being truthful about the amount of gold in the vault.
• "All the gold is present and accounted for," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told talk show host Dan O'Donnell in an exclusive interview Wednesday, emphasizing that an audit is conducted every year (though it's often said a full audit has not been done in decades).

Yes, but: Musk and others in the GOP seem to want another one — and the tech billionaire wants to do a video walkthrough of Fort Knox.

Why was Fort Knox's Depository established?

Fort Knox's Bullion Depository was built in the 1930s amid concerns that existing reserves along the East Coast were susceptible to an attack.

• It originally was constructed as a centralized location for the U.S.' growing reserve of gold after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a controversial executive order that effectively banned private gold ownership.
• But since it was erected, it's also housed other American treasures: The U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights all spent a stint at the vaults during World War II.

Who has been inside?

Non-authorized personnel have entered the Kentucky depository on only three occasions.

• Roosevelt inspected the depository in 1943. His visit was the first time it opened its doors to anyone aside from authorized personnel.
• More than 30 years later, in 1974, then-Treasury Secretary William Simon again departed from the no-visitors policy in response to rumors that the gold held in the depository was gone, welcoming a congressional delegation and a group of journalists.
• The New York Times reported at the time that the gold was still there.

This century, non-authorized personnel have only been invited in the historic vaults once.

• In 2017, during Trump's first term, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and others took a trip to see the stash.

What has the administration said about it?

Over the last several days, Musk has zeroed in on the depository, demanding to know whether the gold is "still there."

• "Who is confirming that gold wasn't stolen from Fort Knox?" he wrote Monday. "Maybe it's there, maybe it's not."
• Responding to a post from far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones about a potential DOGE investigation into "missing gold" at Fort Knox, Musk said a "live video walkthrough" would be "cool."
• In a Wednesday post, he said a "livestream" of the highly secretive location would be fire emoji (x2).

Trump, speaking to reporters on Air Force One Wednesday, said, "We're going to go into Fort Knox to make sure the gold is there."

• If it isn't, he said, "we're going to be very upset."

What we're watching: Bessent said he would invite any senator to visit and arrange an inspection of Fort Knox.

Go deeper: Steve Mnuchin viewed the eclipse from Fort Knox