Thomas Kaplan Says Gold Could Reach $50,000

Mike Maharrey

Billionaire investor Thomas Kaplan has made a striking gold price call, saying the metal could eventually reach $50,000.

In an interview with Kitco News, Kaplan said, "Seeing gold go up another tenfold from here, to me, is not just likely, but inevitable."

"I can see gold going to 30, 40, 50,000 dollars without a problem."

Kaplan is chairman and CIO of The Electrum Group, an advisory and asset management firm focused on natural resources. The company has roughly $2.5 billion in assets under management. He is also the largest private collector of Rembrandt's art.

Although Kaplan offered a bold long-term forecast, he did not give a timeline for the move. He said gold and silver are in "what will be seen to be a very, very long wave in gold and silver, that we will see more highs in both."

He declined to speculate on the immediate direction of the market, saying it was unclear whether the recent correction had already bottomed.

"Maybe it already is, maybe it needs to test again, I don't know."

Still, Kaplan said the short-term question does not change his longer-term view.

"Because in the long term, even in the medium term, gold and silver are going to multiply from where they are."

Kaplan said his approach is built around patience and long holding periods, a reminder that his comments are about a decades-long investment horizon rather than a near-term trade. That matters in a market where gold is often watched both as a portfolio diversifier and as a store of value during periods of uncertainty.

"People try to be too clever. And one of the reasons why I do hold things for so long is because, I just say to myself, I’m going to be patient. So long as they are still the best assets in their class, I’ll hold it forever, and I will not be distracted by noise."

Kaplan moved into gold and silver in 2007 after selling his family's energy company. At the time, gold was trading around $550 to $600 per ounce.

"My view was that the place to protect my wealth, my family’s wealth, when we sold our energy company, which was our biggest asset and our biggest ‘killing,’ as it were, was gold and silver."

He said he entered 2007 believing markets were overly optimistic.

"I'd entered 2007 with a view that things were just simply too good, not dissimilar to the way things are right now in certain respects. And that there was just too much bullishness in asset classes."

At the time, Kaplan predicted gold would rise from the $500 range to between $3,000 and $5,000. He said he expected it could reach $5,000, then fall back to $3,000, before recovering and advancing again.

Kaplan also compared the recent correction to a "1987 moment," referring to the stock market crash that was followed by a recovery to new highs. He described it as a correction inside a bull market.

He noted that the 36 percent crash on Black Friday "really did seem like the world was falling in upon itself."

"And yet when you look back over that chart, you can't see it. Certainly, a person of my vintage would need glasses to be able to perceive it. It's that minute."

Kaplan, who shifted into gold and silver and effectively moved out of the markets before the 2008 crash, said he sees a similar backdrop today.