Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, center, holds a gold bar while visiting the Central Depository of the Bank of Russia. (Alexsey Druginyn/AFP/Getty Images). |
In September 2012, TheBlaze reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been grabbing up gold “as fast as he can get his hands on it.” And since that initial report, he has only doubled his efforts. “Not only has Putin made Russia the world’s largest oil producer, he’s also made it the biggest gold buyer,” Bloomberg notes.
“His central bank has added 570 metric tons of the metal in the past decade, a quarter more than runner-up China,” the report adds. “The added gold is also almost triple the weight of the Statue of Liberty.”