# Who owns the Federal Reserve? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 13, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822 "2005-02-13T02:38:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WpgTriniman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a88e4f/32.png) [@WpgTriniman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WpgTriniman)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822/1 "2005-02-13T02:38:34Z")
Which families own the Federal Reserve? I understand it is not a government institution but a private organization. Why isn’t it a government organization? How much do we pay it to do its job? ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822/2 "2005-02-13T02:52:06Z")
I wasn’t aware this was a controversial issue, more of an esoteric one. My psychic powers tell me this will get moved to GQ. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822/3 "2005-02-13T02:57:58Z")
No “families” or “foreign investors” own the Federal Reserve Banks, although in point of fact they are not **owned** by the Federal government. [This article](http://www.usagold.com/FederalReserve.html) does a thorough job of refuting some of the leading conspiracy theories about “international bankers having taken over our financial institutions.” ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822/4 "2005-02-13T02:58:57Z")
The Fed is owned by the member banks and those that control them. The US government does not own them. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822/5 "2005-02-13T03:17:05Z")
Why, the International Satanic Jewish Communist Vatican Freemasonic Bilderberger Trilateralist New World Order Conspiracy Cabal, Inc., of course! Where wuz you raised? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822/6 "2005-02-13T03:19:12Z")
> [@WpgTriniman](#): > > Which families own the Federal Reserve? I understand it is not a government institution but a private organization. > > Why isn’t it a government organization? How much do we pay it to do its job? The Federal Reserve system may be privately owned in a sense, but it certainly is a quasi-governmental institution at the very least. It’s controlled by a board appointed by the President and its powers and operation are to a large extent governed by Federal law. One of the reasons it’s not directly controlled by the Executive or Legislative branches is that there is a very obvious benefit to NOT allowing the government to print up enough money to pay off the debt. A currency that’s got checks and balances all over its control will be more stable than one where the President might decide to just whomp up a few trillion greenbacks to fix the deficit/debt problems. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822/7 "2005-02-13T03:23:12Z")
A loose comparison would be the USPS. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822/8 "2005-02-13T03:25:44Z")
From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal\_Reserve#Who\_owns\_the\_Federal\_Reserve.3F:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve#Who_owns_the_Federal_Reserve.3F:) > [@](#): > > **Who owns the Federal Reserve?** > > The Federal Reserve claims that nobody owns it – that it is an “independent entity within the government.” The Federal Reserve is subject to laws such as the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act which cover Federal agencies but not private corporations; yet Congress gave the Federal Reserve the autonomy to carry out its responsibilities insulated from political pressure. Each of the Fed’s three parts – the Board of Governors, the regional Reserve banks and the Federal Open Market Committee – operates independently of the federal government to carry out the Fed’s core responsibilities. Once a member of the Board of Governors is appointed, he or she can be as independent as a U.S. Supreme Court judge, though the term is shorter. > > **Influence of Government** > > As the nation’s central bank, the Federal Reserve derives its authority from the US Congress. It is considered an independent central bank because its decisions do not have to be ratified by the President or anyone else in the executive or legislative branch of government, it does not receive funding appropriated by the Congress, and the terms of the members of the Board of Governors span multiple presidential and congressional terms. The Fed’s financial independence arises because it is hugely profitable, among others, due to its ownership of government bonds. It returns billions of dollars to the government each year. However, the Federal Reserve is subject to oversight by the Congress, which periodically reviews its activities and can alter its responsibilities by statute. Also, the Federal Reserve must work within the framework of the overall objectives of economic and financial policy established by the government… > > **The Reserve Banks** > > The twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks, which were established by the Congress as the operating arms of the nation’s central banking system, are organized much like private corporations—possibly leading to some confusion about “ownership.” For example, the Reserve Banks issue shares of stock to member banks. However, owning Reserve Bank stock is quite different from owning stock in a private company. The Reserve Banks are not operated for profit, and ownership of a certain amount of stock is, by law, a condition of membership in the System. The stock may not be sold or traded or pledged as security for a loan; dividends are, by law, limited to 6 percent per year.[1] ([http://minneapolisfed.org/info/sys/faq/frs.cfm#3](http://minneapolisfed.org/info/sys/faq/frs.cfm#3)) > > The Federal Reserve System, frequently referred to as simply the Federal Reserve Bank or “The Fed,” was created via the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 which "established a new central bank designed to add both flexibility and strength to the nation’s financial system. The legislation provided for a system that included a number of regional Reserve Banks and a seven-member governing board. All national banks were required to join the system and other banks could join. The Reserve Banks opened for business in November 1914. Congress created Federal Reserve notes to provide the nation with an elastic supply of currency. The notes were to be issued to Reserve Banks for subsequent transmittal to banking institutions in accordance with the needs of the public. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822/9 "2005-02-13T03:30:03Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > One of the reasons it’s not directly controlled by the Executive or Legislative branches is that there is a very obvious benefit to NOT allowing the government to print up enough money to pay off the debt. A currency that’s got checks and balances all over its control will be more stable than one where the President might decide to just whomp up a few trillion greenbacks to fix the deficit/debt problems. I wonder how different things would be if the Fed’s Board of Governors were elected officials? Not appointed by Congress or the president, but elected separately by the people. That would make public monetary policy, something most people rarely think about, an actual political issue – which it inescapably **is** – at regular intervals. Would money be looser or tighter than it is now? Food for thought. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822/10 "2005-02-13T03:37:30Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I wonder how different things would be if the Fed’s Board of Governors were elected officials? Not appointed by Congress or the president, but elected separately by the people. That would make public monetary policy, something most people rarely think about, an actual political issue – which it inescapably **is** – at regular intervals. Would money be looser or tighter than it is now? Food for thought. An interesting point. Worthy of it’s own thread. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822/11 "2005-02-13T03:47:41Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I wonder how different things would be if the Fed’s Board of Governors were elected officials? Not appointed by Congress or the president, but elected separately by the people. That would make public monetary policy, something most people rarely think about, an actual political issue – which it inescapably **is** – at regular intervals. Would money be looser or tighter than it is now? Food for thought. Such a system would certainly interest me, but I was an Econ major. I’m skeptical, though, that people would care much. After all, gigantic deficits don’t seem to faze the general public and they have direct say in who sets fiscal policy. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822/12 "2005-02-13T07:33:37Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Why, the International Satanic Jewish Communist Vatican Freemasonic Bilderberger Trilateralist New World Order Conspiracy Cabal, Inc., of course! Where wuz you raised? 🙂 You forgot the Illuminati. You’re with them, aren’t you!!! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822/13 "2005-02-13T08:18:15Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I wonder how different things would be if the Fed’s Board of Governors were elected officials? Not appointed by Congress or the president, but elected separately by the people. That would make public monetary policy, something most people rarely think about, an actual political issue – which it inescapably **is** – at regular intervals. Would money be looser or tighter than it is now? Food for thought. Congress used to have the Constitutional authority to coin money. Exactly how they did this before the FRS, I’m not clear. One of the arguments for the FRS act was that it removed monetary policy from the political arena, where Congressmen were vulnerable to do what was short-run expedient rather than long-run beneficial. Then again, in the 1929 Panic, the Fed tightened the money supply, which exascerbated the Crash, rather than loosened it, which could have resulted in banks being able to ride through it easier. While this may have been the result of a relatively new agency failing in its first major challenge, it has been interpreted as a result of deliberate conspiracy. Part of my departure from my past Birchism is opposition to the Fed. However, I can’t blame the Conspiracy Buffs for their suspicion, as it emerged in the same year 1913 as the Progressive Income Tax, fulfilled one of Karl Marx’s ten planks for Communizing a nation, was championed at the secret Jekyll Island, GA meeting with Colonel Edward Mandell House & various Banking family representatives, and was presided over by the Warburg family, whose German branch held the same position over the Kaiser’s Germany’s national bank. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822/14 "2005-02-13T09:33:40Z")
> [@BrainGlutton from Wikipedia](#): > > The Federal Reserve is subject to laws such as the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act which cover Federal agencies but not private corporations; yet Congress gave the Federal Reserve the autonomy to carry out its responsibilities insulated from political pressure. But that which giveth can taketh away. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822/15 "2005-02-13T13:59:17Z")
The thing that fascinates me about the questions on the Fed’s independence or accountability to We The People, or more broadly to International Banking Conspiracies in general, is the bit about > [@](#): > > Which families own the Federal Reserve? “Families”?? Whaddya mean “families”? It’s 2005. The private stockholders of the Fed are _ **corporations** _. The entities that move money around the world and have you and me and the girl next door over a barrel in in whatever continent we live in are _ **corporations** _. Families, schmamilies. Oh, and **BrainGlutton/Cynical Gabe** , don’t forget to toss in the descendants of Mary Magdalene, and the Reptiloid Aliens. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822/16 "2005-02-13T14:27:51Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > The thing that fascinates me about the questions on the Fed’s independence or accountability to We The People, or more broadly to International Banking Conspiracies in general, is the bit about “Families”?? > Whaddya mean “families”? > It’s 2005. The private stockholders of the Fed are _ **corporations** _. The entities that move money around the world and have you and me and the girl next door over a barrel in in whatever continent we live in are _ **corporations** _. Families, schmamilies. > > Oh, and **BrainGlutton/Cynical Gabe** , don’t forget to toss in the descendants of Mary Magdalene, and the Reptiloid Aliens. [Tin Hat **ON**] No, he didn’t. The descendants of Mary Magdalene and the Reptiloid Aliens are the **same** people, and are the families **behind** the Bilderburg and the Trilateral Commission. **And** they all spend New Year’s Eve at Hilton Head on the Renassiance Weekends. [Tin Hat **OFF**] 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822/17 "2005-02-13T15:58:47Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Congress used to have the Constitutional authority to coin money. They still have the authority to coin money and regulate monetary policy. They could theoretically overrule any decision the Federal Reserve makes. They could abolish the Federal Reserve tomorrow if they were so inclined. But it must work better for them to have someone else to blame if things go wrong. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822/18 "2005-02-13T22:48:21Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Part of my departure from my past Birchism is opposition to the Fed. However, I can’t blame the Conspiracy Buffs for their suspicion, as it emerged in the same year 1913 as the Progressive Income Tax, . . . 😕 What’s that got to do with the price of dollars? > [@FriarTed](#): > > . . . fulfilled one of Karl Marx’s ten planks for Communizing a nation, . . . 😕😕 What are those? > [@FriarTed](#): > > . . . was championed at the secret Jekyll Island, GA meeting with Colonel Edward Mandell House & various Banking family representatives, and was presided over by the Warburg family, whose German branch held the same position over the Kaiser’s Germany’s national bank. 😕😕😕 ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822/19 "2005-02-13T23:08:54Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Congress used to have the Constitutional authority to coin money. It still does. However, in an era of paper money, this power is thoroughly trivial. > [@](#): > > Exactly how they did this before the FRS, I’m not clear. By establishing United States Mints, to which one could bring bullion and have it minted into coins of specified specie content and value. > [@](#): > > One of the arguments for the FRS act was that it removed monetary policy from the political arena, where Congressmen were vulnerable to do what was short-run expedient rather than long-run beneficial. On the contrary, the primary goal of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 was to _increase_ the degree of political control over monetary policy. Before 1913, central banking was in private hands, and private bankers controlled the availability of credit. > [@](#): > > Then again, in the 1929 Panic, the Fed tightened the money supply, which exacerbated the Crash, rather than loosened it, which could have resulted in banks being able to ride through it easier. While this may have been the result of a relatively new agency failing in its first major challenge, it has been interpreted as a result of deliberate conspiracy. No, it was just garden-variety incompetence. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2005, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822/20 "2005-02-15T01:40:43Z")
Why, the International Satanic Jewish Communist Vatican Freemasonic Bilderberger Trilateralist New World Order Conspiracy Cabal, Inc., of course! Where wuz you raised? > [@CynicalGabe](#): > > You forgot the Illuminati. > > You’re with them, aren’t you!!! :mad: You forgot Colonel Sanders, the Rockafellers and the Kaiser… > [@FriarTed](#): > > , whose German branch held the same position over the Kaiser’s Germany’s national bank. Oh wait…you did include him! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/289822.md?page=2)