Where the World's
Wealth Is Stored
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The Biggest Stockpiles
With gold trading above $1,000 an ounce for the first time ever in March it begs the question: In which location is the most gold stored? Many people would say Fort Knox, Ky., but they would be wrong.
Click through our gallery to where the most gold really is and find out about silver, emeralds, rubies and more.
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David Karp, AP
Gold
The Federal Reserve Bank of N.Y., New York, N.Y.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York holds the prize as the world's biggest known stockpile of bullion, some 550,000 glistening bars of the stuff, buried deep into the bedrock of lower Manhattan. That's $203.3 billion worth in a single place.
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Adrian Dennis, AFP | Getty Images
Silver
JPMorgan Bank
London, U.K.
JPMorgan bank keeps 155 million ounces of silver for Barclays Bank, to back its IShares silver electronically traded fund, which debuted in 2006.
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Richard Lewis, AP
Diamonds
De Beers Headquarters
London, U.K.
De Beers holds 40% of the world's market share in diamonds. But the vault at the company's headquarters isn't ankle-deep in sparkle. At any given time only "a few weeks" of supply are stocked there. In March, Botswana will become the new king of the diamond trade, when De Beers and the Botswana government unveil an $80 million facility there.
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Ricardo Mazalan, AP
Emeralds
Muzo, Columbia
Colombia dominates the emerald market, and Victor Carranza dominates Colombia's emerald business. His territory includes the Muzo region, near Bogata. He is credited with stopping drug cartels from trying to take over the emerald mines during the 1980s.
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AP
Rubies
Myanmar and Chataburi,
Thailand
About 90% of the world's rubies come from Myanmar, the subject of considerable controversy these days. Last year, there were widespread calls for boycotts of government auctions of raw gems. Once plucked from the ground, most rubies are sent to Chataburi, Thailand, to be cut.
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Cassandra Shie, AOL
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Unknown BillionairesMad money does not always equal fame. These folks manage to skirt the public eye despite their billions. We're not talking about famous and reclusive. We're talking about being flat-out unknown among the masses.
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World's Rarest Items
Luxist.com takes a peek inside the world of the uncommon and elusive. From wine, coins and jewels to jeans, pets and food -- they reveal the world's rarest items in each of 18 categories.
Click through our gallery to see which prized possessions made the list -- and what makes them so special.
Bet You Don't Own One of These!
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World's Rarest Items
Timothy Clary, Getty Images
From jewels to jeans to houses and horses, we reveal the world's rarest items in each of 18 categories.
