Answer & explanation
The official answer, with Fermi’s reasoning step by step.
Answer & explanation
Official answer
280,000
metric tons
How to estimate it
Fermi’s official “Napkin math”
The US national debt is around 40 trillion dollars. What does gold go for? Maybe 4,400 a troy ounce, and a troy ounce is about 31 grams, with a million grams to the metric ton.
- US national debt
- $40 trillion
- ÷ gold ($4,400/troy oz)
- ≈ 9 billion oz
- × 31 g, ÷ 1M
- ≈ 280,000 tons
The US national debt is around 40 trillion dollars. What does gold go for? Maybe 4,400 a troy ounce, which runs about 10% heavier than the kitchen kind, then 16 ounces to the pound and 2,000 to the ton.
- US national debt
- $40 trillion
- ÷ gold ($4,400/troy oz)
- ≈ 9 billion oz
- +10% for troy, ÷ 16, ÷ 2,000
- ≈ 300,000 tons
Rounded assumptions may give a slightly different estimate. The official answer above is the game’s reference value.
Source calculation & reference
- U.S. national debt (Aug 2026)
- ≈ $39.9 T
- Gold price
- ÷ $4,430/troy oz
- Troy ounces
- ≈ 9.0 B
- × 31.1 g, ÷ 1 M (g → t)
- ≈ 280,000 t
Reference cited by Fermi: U.S. Treasury 'Debt to the Penny' (Aug 2026, $39.9 T) · gold spot price, Aug 2026 (~$4,430/troy oz)
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