Gold rose more than eightfold from 1976 to 1980, reaching a then-record $850, before plunging 67% to as low as $284.25 over the next five years. That peak adjusted for inflation is equal to $2,266 today, based on a calculator on the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis' website.

Paulson & Co.

Paulson & Co., which manages $33 billion of assets, is the largest investor in the SPDR Gold Trust and Johannesburg-based AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., Africa's biggest producer, an SEC filing Nov. 15 and data compiled by Bloomberg show. The New York-based fund is run by John Paulson, 54, who bet against U.S. mortgage markets amid the subprime crisis. The company's funds generated profits of more than $3 billion in 2007.

Soros Fund Management, which according to Soros's website manages about $27 billion of assets, cut its holding in the SPDR Gold Trust in the third quarter, and bought a stake in iShares Gold Trust, also backed by bullion. Soros listed NovaGold Resources Inc., based in Vancouver, and Kinross Gold Corp., based in Toronto, among his fund's 10-biggest holdings in an SEC filing Nov. 15.

Touradji Capital Management maintained a holding worth about $88 million in Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp., the world's biggest gold mining company, an SEC filing on Nov. 12 showed. New York-based Paul Touradji, 39, also bought a stake worth $1.7 million in Phoenix-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., the filing shows.

The data on the holdings reflect the funds' positions as of the end of September. Spokesmen for the fund managers declined to comment.

290 Tons

Investors in options on Comex gold futures are anticipating the rally will continue. The second-most widely held option gives holders the right to buy gold at $2,000 by November 2011.

Investors in gold-backed ETPs bought shares representing 290 tons this year, worth $12.6 billion, data from 10 providers show. Investment overtook jewelry as the biggest source of demand last year for the first time in three decades and will retain the top spot this year, according to GFMS, which has a team of 18 precious metals analysts.

Euro Pacific's Pento says gold will go as high as $1,800 by the end of next year. Pento correctly predicted in September 2009 that gold would reach $1,200 before the end of the year and in July this year forecast $1,400.