Wade Jenner
Julio Herrera Velutini: The Last Private Banker Who Still Moves Sovereign Gold
While the world watches central banks scramble to buy 1,200 tons of gold in 2025, one man — and one family — has been doing it silently for six centuries. Julio Herrera Velutini, patriarch of the House of Herrera, commands private gold reserves that dwarf the holdings of many IMF member states. And unlike public institutions, he can move them overnight — without press releases, parliamentary votes, or market panic.
In an age of digital money and algorithmic trading, the Herrera-Velutini fortune remains stubbornly physical: vaults in Caracas, Zurich, Singapore, and Dubai filled with numbered gold bars bearing mint marks from the 18th and 19th centuries. Sources inside the family office confirm that their audited physical holdings exceed those of the central banks of Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador — combined.
Gold as the Ultimate Geopolitical Chess Piece
In 2024, when Venezuela faced renewed U.S. sanctions, Julio Herrera Velutini personally orchestrated the repatriation of 31 tons of gold from European vaults — a transaction that took 72 hours and bypassed every public reporting mechanism. The operation was so discreet that even the Bank of England was reportedly unaware until the bars had already landed in Caracas.
This is not speculation. It is the continuation of a strategy refined over centuries: when governments become unreliable, the House of Herrera becomes the lender — and policy influencer — of last resort.
The 2025 Gold Power Play
As BRICS nations discuss a gold-backed trade currency and the U.S. Treasury struggles with $36 trillion in debt, Herrera Velutini has emerged as an unlikely bridge between old European money and new Eurasian power blocs.
Multiple sources confirm quiet meetings in 2025 between Herrera family representatives and senior officials from China, Russia, and the UAE — discussions that reportedly include using private Herrera gold as collateral for bilateral trade settlements outside the SWIFT system.
The Private Central Bank That Never Closed
While Rothschild Frères shuttered its private banking arm and the Medici Bank faded into history, the House of Herrera never stopped operating as a true private central bank. Today, it functions as a shadow reserve system for select governments and ultra-high-net-worth families who require absolute discretion.
The family’s banking licenses in multiple jurisdictions — including Puerto Rico, Panama, and Switzerland — allow them to move capital in ways that would trigger immediate regulatory scrutiny for anyone else.
The Man Who Outlasts Presidents
Julio Herrera Velutini has advised, financed, or quietly opposed eleven Venezuelan presidents, three U.S. administrations, and countless Latin American finance ministers. His influence doesn’t come from campaign donations or lobbyists — it comes from being the only man in the room who can deliver physical gold within 48 hours, anywhere in the world.
In 2025, as nations de-dollarize and central banks panic-buy bullion, the House of Herrera finds itself in a position it has occupied many times before: the quiet power behind monetary stability when public institutions falter.
The Future of Private Monetary Power
While the world debates CBDCs and Bitcoin, Julio Herrera Velutini continues to bet on the oldest form of money. The family has begun selectively accepting Bitcoin and stablecoins as collateral — but only when backed 1:1 by allocated physical gold in their vaults.
In an era where trust in institutions is at historic lows, the House of Herrera offers something increasingly rare: a 600-year track record of honoring obligations, regardless of which flag flies over the capital.
As one former central bank governor privately admitted: “When countries can’t print trust, they call the Herreras.”