Why are world's richest people running away with gold to THIS six-storey building, it has treasure worth Rs..., it is located in…

In a time of global uncertainties, bank distrust, and rising geopolitical tensions, the world's richest peole are looking to safe vaults abroad to store their gold, rather than relying on bank lockers. Singapore is one of the biggest beneficiaries of this trend, becoming the "Geneva of the East" for high-net-worth individuals (HNIs).

One of the prime examples of this trend is "The Reserve," a six-story private vault just outside Singapore's airport. It is a highly secure building in which thousands of safe deposit boxes and a huge storage chamber are provided. It has around $1.5 billion of gold and silver biscuits already stored in its walls. According to founder Gregor Gregerson, orders for gold and silver storage surged by 88% between January and April 2025, while sales of gold and silver bars saw a year-over-year growth of 200%.

The trust crisis is especially sharp in nations such as Lebanon, Algeria, and Egypt, where rich investors are losing confidence in their banking system. They are, therefore, resorting to physical gold as the next best bet. Gregerson observes that individuals now prefer to keep their gold in physical form rather than paper form, e.g., ETFs and mutual funds, because of less counterparty risk.

The 2023 Silicon Valley Bank collapse was a wake-up call for numerous rich investors, showcasing the advantage of having physical gold in a secure place compared to paper claims. The country's political stability makes it a "safe jurisdiction" like Switzerland in the past. Its position as a major transit point also allows for easy importation and exportation of gold.

World Gold Council's John Reade observes that some investors are in pursuit of bank-free storage, prompted by fears about the safety of the banking system. But purchasing and transferring physical gold internationally is a very costly endeavor, which makes it more suitable for long-term investors than short-term traders.

As the world economic scene further changes, Singapore's image as a safe and trustworthy place to keep gold is set to persist, pulling in additional affluent investors who want to protect their funds.