Has Anyone Ever Tried To Rob Fort Knox?

With gold worth around $272 billion, Fort Knox will be a dream job for most heist artists

Fort Knox is officially the location of the United States Bullion Depository. It is a fortified and heavily guarded facility, located within the United States Army post of Fort Knox, Kentucky. A little over half of the United States’ gold reserves are kept at Fort Knox. Total gold at Fort Knox is estimated to be around 147 million troy ounces or 4,580 metric tons. At current rates, the value of gold at Fort Knox is a staggering $272 billion.

With such a huge deposit of gold, it is only natural for criminals to target this facility. But has anyone ever tried to rob Fort Knox? To answer that, here is what we need to know.

Frequently targeted in reel life

Anyone who knows Fort Knox will naturally think about the possibility of a heist. Across films and TV shows, heist scenarios for Fort Knox have been imagined multiple times. The most thorough work was seen in the 1964 James Bond movie ‘Goldfinger’. It is by far the most detailed attempt to rob Fort Knox in reel life. But even in reel life, the villain was unable to rob Fort Knox.

High security

Fort Knox is one of the most secure locations in the world. The vault doors weigh around 20 tons and are designed to be blast-proof. There are smaller vaults inside, which further enhance overall security. The building utilizes a mix of steel, granite and reinforced concrete. It makes it very difficult for someone to blast his way through the facility. Furthermore, there are minefields, tank traps and barbed wire fences.

A number of intrusion detection systems including motion sensors and video surveillance are in place at Fort Knox. The facility is patrolled by armed guards 24/7. To handle digital threats, cutting-edge encryption and cybersecurity measures are in place. The facility has strict access control, with only a few people authorized to know the combination to the vault. Fort Knox is likely to be using fingerprint, iris scans and other advanced systems for added security.

Another major deterrent is that Fort Knox is part of the Fort Knox Army Post, a large military base. Anyone thinking about robbing Fort Knox will have to be ready to start a war to get inside. There are likely to be various other security measures in place that are not known in the public domain.

As is evident from above, Fort Knox is literally impenetrable due to its formidable security measures. It explains why no one has ever attempted to rob Fort Knox in real life. Robbing Fort Knox will require a coordinated attack, involving a large team. Some insider help will also be needed. There should be a foolproof escape plan and the resources to use the stolen gold without getting caught.

The probability of such a major offensive is extremely low. We believe the prospect of robbing Fort Knox will forever remain in the realms of movies and TV shows.