There's a finite amount of gold, with about 216,000 tonnes already mined and roughly 55,000 tonnes of identified, economically viable reserves left to extract, according to recent estimates, though undiscovered deposits add uncertainty. All the gold ever mined could fit into a cube about 22 meters on each side, with the remaining reserves forming a smaller cube. Major untapped reserves are in Australia and Russia, while the bulk of mined gold is held as jewelry, bars, coins, or by central banks.
Gold is a finite resource in the Earth's crust. The US Geological Survey estimates that only 54-57,000 metric tons of identified economic gold reserves remain globally. At the current annual mining rate of roughly 3,000–3,300 tonnes, those known reserves would be exhausted in less than 20 years.
Different states in the US have different laws about this. Being gold, it is considered treasure. So, it needs to be turned in for evaluation, to make sure it was not stolen goods. If not, it gets returned to you, in most cases.
The below-ground stock of gold reserves is currently estimated to be around 50,000 tonnes, according to the US Geological Survey. To put that in perspective, around 190,000 tonnes of gold has been mined in total, although estimates do vary. Based on these rough figures, there is about 20% still to be mined.
The short answer is no, there is no federal limit on how much gold Americans can own today. You're legally free to purchase and hold as much physical gold as you want, whether in coins, bars, jewelry or other forms.
If you invested $1,000 in gold 10 years ago (around late 2015/early 2016), your investment would likely be worth significantly more today (late 2025), potentially in the range of $2,000 to over $3,000, reflecting substantial price appreciation, though less than the S&P 500 but outperforming during certain periods of market stress, acting as a hedge against uncertainty, with returns varying based on exact entry/exit points and premiums/spreads.
Warren Buffett calls gold an "unproductive" asset
That's part of the reason he dislikes gold. In his 2011 letter to Berkshire's shareholders, he explicitly referred to it as an unproductive asset and highlighted two of its main shortcomings: Gold isn't very useful.
Together, the three segments are designed to balance stability (60%), accessibility (20%) and growth potential (20%) without relying on a single expression of gold to do all the work. Find out more about the many benefits of gold investing here.
While no planet in our solar system is entirely made of gold, the asteroid 16 Psyche is believed to contain an astonishing amount of gold and other precious metals. Located between Mars and Jupiter, this metallic giant could be worth trillions—yes, trillions! —of dollars.
Our oceans contain around 20 million tons of dissolved gold. However, this means there is only about one gram of gold for every 110 million tons of ocean water. Many gold deposits exist deep within the sea floor, and some deposits can often be trapped underneath rock as far down as 35,000 feet.
Considered by most authorities to be the biggest gold nugget ever found, the Welcome Stranger was found at Moliagul, Victoria, Australia in 1869 by John Deason and Richard Oates. It had a gross weight of over 2,520 troy ounces (78 kg; 173 lb) and returned over 2,284 troy ounces (71.0 kg; 156.6 lb) net.
Elon Musk does not hold significant investments in gold, but he should. Musk's focus is largely on technology. His investment strategy aligns with his innovation-driven approach.
No single entity owns 90% of the stock market, but the wealthiest Americans own the vast majority of it, with the top 10% holding around 90-93% of U.S. stocks, while the bottom 50% own only about 1%, according to Federal Reserve data analysis from early 2024. This concentration of ownership is primarily held by high-net-worth individuals and their investment vehicles, not one owner.
In 1957, Buffett, in a letter to limited partners, suggested that 70% of his company's capital was invested in stocks and 30% in corporate work-outs.
Investing $1,000 in Coca-Cola (KO) stock 20 years ago (around early 2006) would have grown to roughly $6,000 to $8,000 by late 2025, assuming reinvested dividends, but it significantly underperformed the S&P 500 index, which would have turned $1,000 into about $20,000 over the same period, highlighting that while Coca-Cola offers stability, diversification and broader market index funds often yield better long-term returns.
Yes, gold is showing strong upward momentum, hitting record highs in late 2025 and early 2026 due to global economic uncertainty, central bank buying, inflation concerns, and the search for safe-haven assets, with many analysts forecasting continued strength into 2026, though with potential for volatility and corrections. Major banks like J.P. Morgan predict prices could reach $5,000-$5,400/oz by late 2026, while some extreme forecasts suggest much higher targets, driven by long-term trends like diversification away from the dollar.
If you invested $100 in Bitcoin 10 years ago (in late 2015) when it was around $330 per coin, you would have owned about 0.303 BTC. At today's price of $102,000 per Bitcoin, your investment would now be worth $30,906. That's a 309 times return over 10 years, turning a hundred bucks into over thirty thousand dollars.
Totoo Bang Customs Can Seize Your Gold, Fine You, or File a Criminal Case!. This video is for educational purposes only. Always follow customs and border protection laws.
Executive Order 6102, issued by FDR in 1933, made it illegal for Americans to own most forms of gold. The order aimed to combat the Great Depression by expanding the money supply and ending gold hoarding. Private gold ownership was fully restored in 1974, making pre-1933 U.S. gold coins highly collectible today.
Within a year, nearly all of France's gold was brought home. Though, as new dollars were acquired, the operation of Vide-Gousset expanded. In 1965 and 1966, no less than 94 air flights were organized, which allowed the repatriation of 1,175 tonnes of gold from London.