WASHINGTON, April 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — It’s survived two world wars. A Great Depression. The 2008 financial crisis. Even COVID. While every other government fund has been depleted, borrowed from, or outright drained… one remained off-limits.
Now, Jim Rickards — former CIA advisor and legal strategist — says that unspent, untapped, and largely unknown asset may finally be coming to light.
“This is different. Very different,” Rickards says. “The government has raided the Social Security trust fund so many times, it is practically gone. But this… was sealed off.”
He’s referring to a legally protected national resource buried beneath government-controlled land. Its value? According to Rickards: $150 trillion.
It’s Not in the Budget Because It’s Not Supposed to Be
What makes this so unusual is that the resource — a stockpile of mineral wealth stretching across dozens of U.S. states — doesn’t appear in any federal budget, bailout program, or balance sheet.
“It’s been this big secret for years,” Rickards explains. “Yet over time, the estimated size of this fund has grown and grown… to the point where its raw value sits near $150 trillion and counting.”
“They didn’t spend it. They didn’t raid it. They just left it alone,” he adds.
Originally established in the 19th century, the legal structure protecting this resource held firm — even as other entitlements, reserves, and institutions fell to political maneuvering.
Then One Ruling Changed Everything
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 reversal of the Chevron Doctrine — a ruling that ended decades of unchecked agency regulation — quietly shifted the landscape.
“It essentially gave so-called government experts ‘kill shot’ power,” Rickards says. “But now… for the first time in half a century – we can go get [these resources]!”
He believes this decision removed the final layer of insulation, setting the stage for the asset to finally be acknowledged, accessed, and potentially used by American corporations.
A Time Capsule of Untouched Wealth
What exactly is inside? According to Rickards, it’s not paper, not bonds, and not oil.
It’s copper. Lithium. Silver. Rare earths. The physical backbone of modern infrastructure — buried beneath thousands of square miles of federally protected land.
“We have all these essential materials right under our feet,” Rickards notes. “Incredibly, insanely, however, the United States is the only nation in the world that locks them up.”
The sheer value of these materials — under modern pricing — eclipses even the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world.
“It’s enough to take a 100% stake in every company listed on the NASDAQ… and buy every private home in the United States.”
Why It Matters Now
With federal budgets strained, national debt soaring, and tensions rising over foreign supply chains, Rickards believes this hidden resource may be the most important tool America has left.
“We are entering a new era,” he says.
He draws comparisons to the early Homestead Act — but this time, instead of land, what’s on the line is control over America’s last untouched resource.
About Jim Rickards
Jim Rickards is a lawyer, economist, and former advisor to the CIA, Pentagon, and U.S. Treasury. With a four-decade career in financial intelligence and national security, he has been a trusted voice during major geopolitical events and global crises. Rickards is the author of six best-selling books, including Currency Wars and The Death of Money, and is widely known for exposing hidden risks and suppressed truths buried within the legal, political, and financial systems.
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