Investors Optimistic About Gold Price Prospects, Here's Why

Gold prices continue to move to maintain gains above US$4,100 per troy ounce. Although prices are consolidating at a critical support level, one prominent investor says he is optimistic that the rally will strengthen again in the near term.

Quoted from Kitco News, Friday (24/7/2026), the billionaire founder of investment management firm Paulson & Co, John Paulson, said he believes gold prices are still in the early stages of a long-term bullish market.

“As people lose confidence in paper currency, gold as an alternative will continue to grow,” Paulson said in an interview with CNBC.

He added that further rises in gold prices will continue to be supported by strong central bank demand.

“Gold is the most appropriate reserve currency in the world, replacing fiat currency,” he said.

Although Paulson has been one of the most prominent advocates of gold over the past two decades, his investment focus has shifted in recent years. In 2009, the investor began buying shares in the world’s largest gold investment fund, SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD), and by 2011 he held around 31.5 million shares.

He exited the physical gold business in the second quarter of 2022. Currently, he focuses on investing in gold mining company shares. The 13F filing of his hedge fund to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, released in May, shows that his investment portfolio, worth US$3.11 billion, is currently built almost entirely around gold mining and precious metals companies.

Paulson believes investors will benefit more from owning shares in mining companies than from bullion. He added that his main focus is on junior exploration companies.

“I think the best way to invest is to invest in early-stage gold shares,” he said.