—
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) finally got a look inside Fort Knox, more than a year after asking to inspect America’s gold reserves.
“Yes, the gold is there all (approximately) 147 million ounces,” he wrote on X after the visit.
However, it seems that for Paul, confirming the gold was only part of the story. He said the bigger lesson is what has happened to the U.S. dollar while that gold has remained in the vault.
Don’t Miss:
“I visited Fort Knox today,” Paul wrote on X in his first post about the visit on Monday. He said the dollar has lost 97% of its purchasing power since the Federal Reserve was created in 1913, adding that $100 at the time had the purchasing power of more than $3,300 today. “This is no accident,” he wrote. “Congress spends without limit, while the Fed prints the difference.”
Fort Knox Still Has a Lesson for 2026
Paul’s visit came after he formally requested an inspection in February 2025, when President Donald Trump and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, who was serving as a special government employee and senior adviser to the president, were publicly questioning whether the gold was still there.
Trump said at the time that the administration would be “very upset” if it wasn’t, while Musk, who wanted to livestream Fort Knox’s gold reserves, wrote on X, “Maybe it’s there, maybe it’s not.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed at the time that the gold was there and audited annually. The U.S. Mint website also says that Fort Knox holds 147.3 million ounces.
Trending: The Wealthy Have Long Used Private Real Estate To Diversify Beyond Stocks. Here’s One Platform Opening That Door.
After seeing it himself, Paul quickly moved past the question of whether the gold existed. “It is impressive, but the real point is what it still teaches in 2026,” he wrote.
Paul pointed to 1971, when the U.S. ended the dollar’s convertibility into gold, and said the currency has lost roughly 85% of its value since then.
He connected that decline to a problem millions of households experience through everyday prices. “A family making $50,000 with two kids that has not received a 25% raise in the last five years is falling behind,” Paul wrote.
“This is now often called ‘affordability,’ but the accurate word is inflation.”
‘Every New Dollar Dilutes the Value’
Paul blamed the loss of purchasing power on government deficits and monetary policy. He said the U.S. runs annual deficits of about $2 trillion and said the Federal Reserve buys roughly one-third of that debt by creating new money.
See Also: AI Needs More Power Than The Grid Can Easily Provide. This Startup Is Taking A Different Approach To Energy Storage.
“Every new dollar dilutes the value of the dollars already in people’s pockets,” Paul wrote. “Gold does not expand when Congress spends. Paper does.”
That concern about preserving purchasing power is also one reason investors have historically looked beyond cash toward assets such as real estate. For people who want to invest in property without buying and managing rentals themselves, Arrived offers another approach.
With Arrived, you can buy fractional shares in professionally selected rental properties while the company handles tenant interactions, maintenance and other day-to-day work. Arrived selects properties with the goal of generating rental income and growing in value over time, with dividends paid monthly. Start investing in real estate through Arrived with just a few clicks and let the company handle the rest.
Read Next: AI Needs More Data Centers. Learn How BluSky AI Is Building Modular Infrastructure To Meet Demand.
Building Wealth Across More Than Just the Market
Building a resilient portfolio means thinking beyond a single asset or market trend. Economic cycles shift, sectors rise and fall, and no one investment performs well in every environment. That’s why many investors look to diversify with platforms that provide access to real estate, fixed-income opportunities, precious metals, and even self-directed retirement accounts. By spreading exposure across multiple asset classes, it becomes easier to manage risk, capture steady returns, and create long-term wealth that isn’t tied to the fortunes of just one company or industry.
Arrived
Backed by Jeff Bezos, Arrived Homes makes real estate investing accessible with a low barrier to entry. Investors can buy fractional shares of single-family rentals and vacation homes starting with as little as $100. This allows everyday investors to diversify into real estate, collect rental income, and build long-term wealth without needing to manage properties directly.
Realberry
Institutional-quality real estate has traditionally been difficult for individual investors to access. Realberry gives accredited investors direct access to private real estate opportunities backed by a team with 35 years of experience, $3.4 billion in assets under management, and $481 million in cumulative distributions paid to investors as of Q4 2025, according to the company. With a portfolio spanning 13 million square feet across seven U.S. states, Realberry focuses on acquiring, developing, and managing real estate with an emphasis on long-term value creation while its principals often invest alongside clients to help align interests.
FarmTogether
Farmland has historically held its value through market volatility and delivered returns uncorrelated to stocks and bonds. For accredited investors, FarmTogether offers direct access to high-quality U.S. farmland starting at $15,000 — fully managed, with no landlord headaches.
Fundrise
Private real estate and private credit can add income and stability to a stock-heavy portfolio. Fundrise offers access to diversified private real estate and credit strategies through an easy-to-use platform, with professionally managed portfolios designed to generate passive income and long-term growth.
Mode Mobile
Mode Mobile is changing the way people interact with their phones by letting users earn money from the same apps and activities they already use every day. Instead of platforms keeping all the advertising revenue, Mode Mobile shares a portion back with users who engage with content, play games, and scroll on their devices. Named one of Deloitte’s fastest-growing software companies in North America, the company has built a large beta user base and is scaling a model that turns everyday smartphone usage into a potential income stream.
EquityMultiple
For accredited investors looking beyond stocks and bonds, EquityMultiple provides access to vetted commercial real estate deals starting at $5,000, with only ~5% of opportunities passing their due diligence process.
Image: Shutterstock
This article Sen. Rand Paul Visited Fort Knox and Confirmed, ‘Yes, the Gold Is There.’ He Says the Bigger Lesson Is What It Means in 2026 originally appeared on Benzinga.com
© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
