“Without Gold I Would Have Starved To Death” – ECB Governor

“Without gold I would have starved to death” – Ewald Nowotny, governor of Austrian central bank and member of ECB’s governing council
– “I was born in 1944. When I was a baby, my mother could only buy food because she still had some gold coins…”
– “When the going gets tough, gold becomes the ultimate money” reports Die Presse

In the vault: Austrian Central Bank director Kurt Pribil, ECB Governor Nowotny and “Press” editor Nikolaus Jilch. – The Press (Clemens Fabry)

Under central bank governor Ewald Nowotny, Austria has brought back half of its gold reserves into the country. But why? What is the fascination of gold today? Why does a central bank store tons of shiny metal in their cellars? And what makes Nowotny himself gold? “Die Presse” visited the gold reserves below the central bank with the governor – and discussed their importance in an interview.

The press: Almost every person has a personal relationship with the gold. How is yours?

Ewald Nowotny: I grew up in a purely urban family. We had no relatives in the country. I’m born in 1944. When I was a baby, my mother could only buy food because she still had some gold coins. Without gold I would have starved. She always told me that. Therefore, this generation already has a certain gold affinity. In extreme times of crisis, this is one of the few things left to be accepted. Gold was the only thing left to the people of the city at that time. Before the silver cutlery was also traded at the farmer.

Are you invested in gold?

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