FACT CHECK: Marcos doesn’t have ‘over a million metric tons’ of gold in banks worldwide

Claim: Former president Ferdinand E. Marcos placed “over a million metric tons” of gold in different banks for the benefit of humanity. 

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The claim was made in a YouTube video that currently has over 640,000 views and 18,000 likes as of writing. 

Facts: The video utilizes an interview with Karen Hudes, a former World Bank lawyer of 21 years, to support the claim. In the interview, Hudes claims that Marcos placed over a million metric tons of gold in different banks in the world, to be used for the benefit of humanity. 

In a statement released in 2014, the World Bank stated that since 2007, Karen Hudes had not been employed by the bank and that she was “in no capacity authorized to represent any arm of the World Bank Group.”

According to the World Bank statement, any claims made by Hudes or her proxies are “false and should not be viewed as credible.” 

Data from the World Gold Council also shows that only 208,874 tonnes of gold have been mined throughout history, which makes it impossible for Marcos to have placed over a million metric tons of gold into multiple banks around the world. 

Furthermore, Rappler has also published numerous fact checks debunking claims about the Marcos family’s wealth and alleged gold ownership. Some similar fact checks are: 

1. FALSE: Marcos family owns a ‘million tons of gold’ – published on February 19, 2023
2. FACT CHECK: Impossible for Marcos to invest 200,000 metric tons of gold in Switzerland – published on January 12, 2023
3. FACT CHECK: Impossible for Marcos to have a billion-ton gold bullion deposit – published on January 27, 2023
4. FACT CHECK: World Bank doesn’t have Marcos gold deposits – published on December 24, 2022

Rappler also fact-checked a claim that said Marcos had placed gold in a 50-year time deposit, which was not mentioned in the late dictator’s will. – Katarina Ruflo/Rappler.com

Katarina Ruflo is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.

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