Inside the 1.5 Billion Vault: Why the Ultra-Rich Are Stashing Gold in Singapore (Photo credit: The Reserve/YouTube)
Singapore is increasingly becoming a major gold storage hub for the ultra-rich amid the rising geopolitical tensions. A six-storey building, near the airport, is reportedly holding yellow metals worth $1.5 billion in tight security. The storage facility, known as “The Reserve,” features numerous secure vaults and storage chambers, housing thousands of safe deposit boxes.
From January to April this year, The Reserve, recorded an 88% surge in demand for storing gold and silver compared to the same period in 2024, a CNBC report said. The vault, which also retails gold and silver bars, reported a 200% year-on-year spike in precious metal sales, according to its founder, Gregor Gregersen.
This boom comes amid a meteoric rise in gold prices, driven by its traditional status as a safe haven in turbulent times. Trade tensions between the US and China, along with a broad sell-off of US assets earlier this year, sent bullion prices soaring to historic highs. Although prices have slightly cooled as tensions eased, experts believe gold could still climb to $5,000 per ounce by next year, up from current levels of around $3,346.32.
Why Physical Gold?
A key trend driving this shift is a growing preference for physical gold over paper assets. Wealthy investors are increasingly wary of counterparty and geopolitical risks that come with paper gold, such as ETFs or pooled reserves, especially after recent financial shocks like the Silicon Valley Bank collapse in 2023.
Physical gold allows direct ownership, which shields holders from potential fallout if a financial institution collapses.
Why Singapore?
So why is Singapore becoming the destination of choice to park these gold bars?
Dubbed the “Geneva of the East,” Singapore offers a compelling mix of political stability, strong legal protections, and world-class infrastructure, making it one of the safest jurisdictions for wealth storage outside traditional banking systems.
“Singapore is a transit hub, which adds to its appeal,” the CNBC report cited financial analyst Jeremy Savory as saying. “It’s not just that you can safely store your gold there, you can also easily retrieve it. That’s where it edges out places like Switzerland, which is slowly losing ground.”
The World Gold Council also confirms the trend: more investors are now choosing to store precious metals with non-bank entities to avoid systemic risk.
A Safe Haven in Uncertain Times
As fears over inflation, banking collapses, and global conflict linger, Singapore’s role as a secure, strategic gold vault is only growing. For the ultra-rich, storing wealth is no longer just about returns, it’s about trust, control, and access. And Singapore, it seems, offers all three.