FYI: It appears so. At the end of 2010, Al Qaeda found itself suddenly flush after securing a $5 million ransom, and the group had to decide what to do with its windfall. At a time when the financial uncertainty of the Great Recession made gold a hot investment, Bin Laden turns out to have been as bullish about the precious metal as any Ron Paul devotee, Tea Party patriot or Wall Street financier.
In a letter that he wrote in December 2010, Bin Laden instructed Al Qaeda’s general manager to set aside a third of the ransom — nearly $1.7 million — to buy gold bars and coins.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/06/world/asia/osama-bin-laden-was-bullish-on-gold.html
