Money & WorkFact
Since one Sunday evening in 1971, money is backed by nothing.
On 15 August 1971, US President Nixon announced on television that dollars would no longer be exchanged for gold. The US had spent more dollars on the Vietnam War and social programmes than there was gold in Fort Knox. Since then all major currencies are fiat money: their value rests solely on trust in the central bank.
Useful: Exchange rates float freely today because the fixed system was abandoned in 1971.
Source: de.wikipedia.org