How much profit does the Federal Reserve make, including possible
profit hidden as operating expenses? Does the Federal Reserve own the
gold in Fort Knox as collateral on the national debt? What could an
independent audit tell us?

A truly independent audit would likely reveal much, but the rich and
powerful control the Federal reserve (and most everything else) so
that is unlikely.
 My guess is the average profits are small (less than the waste likely
in a Fereral agency doing much the same job), but there may be other
good reasons for nationalizing the Federal Reserve. Is there still a
significant ammout of gold at Fort Knox?  Neil

The Federal Reserve is not a government agency. It is a privately
owned bank with a federal mandate that gives it enormous power over
the U.S. economy and financial markets.

I have no idea how much profit the Fed makes, or what assets the Fed
owns. If I had to guess, I'd say the Fed owns some precious metals,
but mostly debt securities and real estate, which are the easiest
places to stash away literally hundreds of billions of dollars. You
can't invest that kind of cash in the stock market without drastically
affecting prices.

An independent audit of the Fed would indeed be revealing. But no
worries about that - it will never happen.

V