Almost $1.5 trillion of the world's cash[1], with U.S. $100 bills[2] making up a great deal of it, is reportedly unaccounted for. So what happened to the money[3]?
"Literally, a lot of these $100 bills are sitting in bank vaults[4] all over the world," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin[5] told FOX Business' Lou Dobbs[6] during an interview on Tuesday.
Mnuchin pointed to the negative interest rates causing people to turn to American dollars as a solid investment[7].
NUMBER OF $100 BILLS CIRCULATING THE GLOBE SKYROCKETING, THIS COULD BE WHY[8]
"The dollar is the reserve currency of the world, and everybody wants to hold dollars," Mnuchin said on "Lou Dobbs Tonight."[9] "And the reason why they want to hold dollars is because the U.S. is a safe place to have your money, to invest and to hold your assets."
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS[10]
Mnuchin said it's interesting that, in a increasingly digital world, "the demand for U.S. currency continues to go up."
VARNEY: THE US DOLLAR IS KING OF THE HILL[11]
"There's a lot of Benjamins all over the world," Mnuchin said.
There are more $100 bills – also known as C-notes – in circulation than $1 bills, according to data from the Federal Reserve[12], which found there are more $100s than any other denomination of U.S. currency. The number of outstanding bills featuring a picture of Benjamin Franklin has about doubled since the start of the recession.
In 2018, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago illustrated a correlation between low interest rates and high currency demand, though it...