Where in the World Is All That Gold Stored?

The increasing popularity of gold has created a tension for countries buying more of it as a hedge against global risk: Its utility depends on where it is stored.

Two of the largest gold warehouses are in New York and London, where the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Bank of England hold reserves for foreign central banks and other institutions. The two cities are the world’s largest trading hubs for gold, and they have a history of secure and reliable storage stretching back more than a century.

There are more than 500,000 gold bars at the New York Fed, which was the largest single store of monetary gold as of the end of 2024. The amount peaked in 1973, not long after the United States removed gold as the backing of the dollar. That move effectively kicked gold from its central place in global finance.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/business/central-banks-gold-storage.html