One fifth of the world’s gold is buried in London – and here’s where it’s hidden
The Bank of England’s underground vaults are home to over £1bn of gold
SECRET vaults in London house one fifth of all the gold on the planet, with a staggering £172 billion worth of bullion tucked away under the capital’s streets.
Vaults under the Bank of England on Threadneedle Street are said to hold 5,134 tonnes of gold, making up the majority of the 6,256 tonne total kept safe underground in London.
Bars of gold bullion are popular with investors because gold will, in theory, always retain its value – no matter how volatile the world economy is.
And there is an enormous stash of bullion lurking in our capital because the London Good Delivery is based there.
This is the system which sets a standard for large bars of gold, making them easier to trade and ensuring that London is an important city for gold investors.
It’s all very James Bond, but the bars really are still kept locked in 1930s-era vaults which require 3ft long keys to open.
Security chiefs claim this old fashioned way of doing things keeps the gold much safer than it would be if it were guarded by an electronic system.
But that’s not to say there aren’t numerous high-tech security measures in place as well.
Visitors have to speak a password into a voice-recognition microphone before they can access the bars, which vary in size and shape based on their value and age.
The vaults themselves have their own rich history too.
When British gold was moved to Canada for safekeeping during World War 2, one vault was converted into a canteen, before being repurposed into a bomb shelter.
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