Goldfinger is the seventh novel in
Ian Fleming's
James Bond series, first published in the UK by
Jonathan Cape on 23 March 1959.
Goldfinger originally bore the title
The Richest Man in the World and was written in January and February 1958. The story centres on the investigation by
MI6 operative James Bond into the gold smuggling activities of
Auric Goldfinger, who is also suspected by MI6 of being connected to
SMERSH, the Soviet counter-intelligence organisation. As well as establishing the background to the smuggling operation, Bond uncovers a much larger plot, with Goldfinger planning to steal the
gold reserves of the United States from
Fort Knox.