VATICAN & GOD: So how much Gold does the Catholic Church actually control?...

Chapter 4         1. The second largest asset class owned by the Vatican is precious metals, or more specifically Gold.   2. Apart from property, no other type of Asset has so obsessed the Catholic Church, nor been religiously accumulated by the Vatican than Gold. It is the currency of the Church and has been for over 1,600 years.   3. So how much Gold does the Catholic Church actually control? Some say very little, citing previous wars and mismanagement. Others claim that the Vatican controls a few “Billion” dollars in gold, with much of it stolen by Catholic Facist regimes during World War II.   4. Before this fact is answered, it is important to clearly establish just how much gold has been mined since the beginning of time, for without a very brief but clear history of gold production, it is difficult to understand the true wealth of the Vatican.     Why is understanding gold important?   5. Our modern economic world is centred around the worship of gold and supported by the stability of certain strategic gold reserves. It was the gold standards adopted by European countries at the start of the 19th century that helped created the modern notion of currency notes that led to the explosion of economic growth and trade.    6. Gold adorns the finest of churches, the altars of which are shrines to Gold. Similarly, throughout Asia there are numerous gold statues to Buddha as there are gold statues to Hindu gods.   7. In America, the modern urban culture of hip hop and dance music places the adornment of copious amounts of gold chains and rings as an outwardly clear sign of financial success.   8. While many philosophers have complained about modern societies worship of money as a god, it is clear that Gold and its literal (church/temple) worship and personal worship is well established and an intrinsic part of the modern psych.     General demand and use of Gold   9. Average total global gold production over the last ten years currently stands around 2,300 to 2,500 metric tonnes per annum. Currently, the three largest gold producers in the world are South Africa (24%), Australia (16%) and Canada (8%).   10. In terms of average total global demand, global demand had been running around 3,800 to 4,000 metric tonnes per annum of which 81% is used for jewelry, 10% for industrial and 9% as bullion (retail investment).   11. This higher consumption of gold compared to production has led some analysts to believe that the price of gold is set to continue to rise even further in coming years.     How much Gold has ever been produced (mined)?   12. It may or may not surprise you to know that there is no unanimous agreement as to exactly how much gold has been produced, nor is still in existence and “owned” across planet Earth.    13. We know that official (public) gold reserves account for some 30,000 metric tonnes of Gold, the single largest gold deposit facility being the Federal Reserve of New York with around 5,000 in official (public) gold reserves.   14. Then there are private gold reserves, not declared and included in total estimates. The internationally recognized Barclays Bank estimate around 24,000 to 26,000 metric tonnes are stored in secure private facilities and that around 80% of all the gold ever mined is in bullion (ingot) form. They therefore estimate the total Gold mined to be only 70,000 tonnes.   15. However the internationally recognized US Geological Survey Department as well as historical mining publications put total global gold production from 1900 to 2006 at 128,075 metric tonnes which is over 58,000 higher from the last century alone than the total claimed by Barclays as being all the gold ever mined!   16. Contrary to the banking sector which seems to substantially low ball estimates, the mining industry claims the total gold produced is closer to around 140,000 to 150,000 metric tonnes.   17. However, if we take into account both accurate production measures and historical data, then from 1600 to the present day, over 150,000 tonnes of gold have been produced, which means even the seemingly “high” figure of 150,000 tonnes is still too conservative.   18. For example, over 3,000 tonnes of Gold was stripped from the American civilizations by the Spanish between 1492 and 1600, estimated to be around 40% of total global production during the period. Between 1600 and 1800, the Jesuit controlled massive slave mines of Colombia and Brazil is estimated to have produced three times the Gold stolen during the American civilization genocides.    19. The most accurate estimate, taking into account all records, all historical references and the history of mining techniques and mining areas is that around 200,143 metric tonnes is closer to the figure of all gold every mined/produced.    20. Years Production Total pre 0 25,000 12.50% 0-400 8,597 33,597 4.30% 401-1490 8,129 41,726 4.10% 1491-1600 6,513 48,239 3.30% 1600-1800 12,312 60,551 6.20% 1800-1900 11,517 72,068 5.80% 1900-2006 128,075 200,143 64.00% 100.00%     Why the discrepancy?   21. It is hard to reconcile why such massive and obvious discrepancies exist to deliberately down play the total size of the total amount of gold from 200,000+ tonnes to less than 70,000 tonnes.   22. One obvious reason is the maintenance of high gold prices. So long as production is less than demand and so long as the markets maintain a perception of limited reserves, traders and owners of gold can demand phenomenal prices.   23. A second and more difficult reason to prove is that there exists very large owners of gold, who are in such a strong financial position that they are willing to hold onto massive private gold reserves away from any accounting for strategic, political and financial advantage.   24. The Russians, for example are believe to hold many tonnes of gold in private reserves that are impossible to verify. However, when we look at official estimates, we are talking about a potential discrepancy in gold estimates of over 50,000 metric tonnes (almost $1,000 Billion) simply missing and unaccounted.    25. ¼ of the world’s total gold doesn’t just simply disappear. Private collectors may hide a portion out of circulation, but eventually it returns in some way and can be tracked. Nor do individual dictators have the power or apparatus to perform such feats.    26. Let us look then at the wealth of the Vatican concerning gold.     The gold reserves held by the Vatican   27. The largest single holder of ingot/bullion gold of any organisation for the past 1,600 years is and has always been the Roman Catholic Church.    28. The Roman Catholic Church controls approximately 60,350 metric tonnes of gold, twice the size of the total official gold reserves around the world or approximately 30.2% of all the gold every mined/produced. At current prices, it puts the asset value of the greatest treasure in human history at over US $1,245 Billion.   29. Years Key Reason Acquisition Total % world 300-400 Ancient Temples 9200 9300 27.7% 401-1350 Western Civilization 12500 21800 57.0% 1351-1490 Templer Treasures 4200 26000 62.3% 1491-1600 New World 3100 29100 60.3% 1600-1800 Slave Mines 4050 33150 54.7% 1800-1900 End of Empires 6500 39650 55.0% 1900-1945 World Wars 16200 55850 53.4% 1946-2006 Organized crime 4500 60350 30.2%   30. At present, the Catholic Church is back down to total gold domination numbers not seen since the fall of the Roman Empire (around 400 to 500 CE) when it controlled less than 30% of total world gold.    31. For most of the past 1,600 years, the Catholic Church has been in a dominant position to control the world market of gold with over 50% of all gold and a high point from around the 14th Century to around 17th Century of controlling over 60% of the total gold ever mined.   32. The treasure has been split between various declared reserves as well as undisclosed reserves. Only 20% of total gold reserves are stored through third parties in official reserves, the largest declared reserve being the Federal Reserve Bank, followed by the reserves in Italy, Switzerland, Germany and France.   33. The largest private (non disclosed) reserves are unknown, but likely to also be in Western countries and corresponding to the major rivate reserves of the oldest private banks and financial firms of Europe. They may also be reserves that are directly managed by the Vatican, however this is highly unlikely.