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Who Founded Noble Gold? Inside Thorngren and Plume’s Background

By Goldiew Research & Editorial · Last reviewed: May 16, 2026 · 12 min read

Editorial transparency. Goldiew may earn a commission when you use a link on this page to connect with a partner company, at no extra cost to you. That commission never influences our research, ratings, or recommendations. We feature only companies we have researched and consider credible, and because we are not the company itself, we do not set its prices or terms. The information here is educational, not financial or legal advice.

Noble Gold Investments was built by two people who decided to do things differently in a gold IRA industry known for aggressive sales tactics and opaque fee structures. Collin Plume serves as President and CEO, confirmed on Noble Gold’s own public website. Charles Thorngren is consistently cited as co-founder in industry coverage of the company. Understanding the backgrounds and philosophy behind both names gives prospective clients a clearer picture of what to expect from Noble Gold before they commit retirement funds.

This profile draws from Noble Gold’s public website (verified 2026), third-party financial press, and Goldiew’s own moderated user review data. Where claims about company history are not confirmed on Noble Gold’s own public pages, this profile says so explicitly.

The Two Names Behind Noble Gold Investments

Most gold IRA companies let the brand do the talking. Noble Gold takes a different position. Their public “who we are” page states customers “will know who our CEO is” as an explicit commitment to leadership transparency. That is a meaningful claim in an industry where founder identities are often buried in fine print, if they appear at all.

Collin Plume is Noble Gold’s publicly identified President and CEO. He appears by name and with a full biographical profile on Noble Gold’s own website. Charles Thorngren comes up repeatedly in industry reviews, comparison guides, and financial press coverage as a co-founder of the company, though Noble Gold’s current corporate site does not feature a comparable standalone profile for him.

Both names are part of Noble Gold’s founding story. The company they built has served 16,000+ investors and safeguarded $2.5 billion in wealth according to their own marketing, and the structure of their business model reflects the specific experiences and frustrations both founders brought to the table.

Collin Plume: President and CEO

Collin Plume came to precious metals after spending years in industrial property insurance. That starting point matters. Insurance is a business built on trust and long-term client relationships. Clients who understand their coverage stay, renew, and refer others. Clients who were rushed into policies they did not understand cancel and dispute claims. Plume’s time in property insurance gave him a framework for client relationships that most financial services companies ignore.

From insurance, Plume moved into the precious metals industry directly, joining an established firm in the space. He did not take years to find his footing. According to Noble Gold’s public “who we are” page, he “rose to be one of the top brokers in the US, with more than $28 million in sales in one year.” That number is worth sitting with. Reaching $28M in annual sales in a single-ticket precious metals business requires understanding how to work with clients who are making significant, often anxiety-producing financial decisions. Plume understood both the transactional mechanics and the emotional weight of what he was selling.

The choice he made after hitting that milestone is the more revealing one. Rather than stay at a high-producing firm and continue scaling his commission income, he left to build Noble Gold on terms he set. The company he designed reflects a specific set of convictions about what the industry was doing wrong.

The Philosophy Plume Built Into Noble Gold

Noble Gold’s public description of its own founding is direct: built to “operate differently from the industry norm: one focused on education, transparency, and long-term relationships, not high-pressure sales.” That language appears on the company’s own website as its founding statement, not as marketing boilerplate added later.

The operating architecture of Noble Gold reflects this in concrete ways. The intake sequence Plume designed moves through clearly separated stages: client submits a simple application, connects with an IRS-approved custodian, has a one-on-one call with a Gold and Silver specialist, and then selects metals. No stage jumps the next. The client is not asked to choose metals before understanding the account structure. A five-minute account opening process reduces friction at the start without compressing the education stage.

Noble Gold also offers free educational materials as a starting point for prospective clients. Not as a lead magnet designed to trigger an immediate sales call, but as a genuine first step in understanding what a precious metals IRA involves before any money moves. Plume’s insurance background surfaces here again: clients who understood what they were buying stayed and referred others. Clients who were rushed did not.

His founding principle, stated on Noble Gold’s company page: “every American deserves the right to protect their wealth and preserve their legacy.” The mission statement that followed: “To empower Americans to protect their wealth and preserve their legacy through integrity, education, and trusted precious metals investing.” These are explicit commitments, not vague brand language. They are also the kind of statement that creates accountability, since clients can measure the company’s behavior against it.

Plume lives in the San Fernando Valley with his wife. Noble Gold’s leadership page notes he enjoys hiking, basketball, and board games. The company published this not because it changes what a gold IRA costs, but because Plume’s broader vision of leadership transparency includes making the person running the company feel accessible rather than distant and institutional.

Charles Thorngren: Co-Founder

Charles Thorngren appears consistently in industry coverage of Noble Gold as a co-founder. Financial review outlets, third-party comparison sites, and gold IRA evaluation guides that have covered Noble Gold over the years frequently name him alongside Plume as one of the two people who built the company.

Noble Gold’s current corporate website does not feature a dedicated profile page for Thorngren equivalent to the biographical section available for Plume. This means that specific claims about Thorngren’s career background, years of experience, or current operational role at Noble Gold that appear in secondary coverage sources are best treated as industry-reported rather than confirmed by Noble Gold’s own public statements. Goldiew’s editorial policy is to flag the distinction rather than present unverified details as settled facts.

What can be said with confidence: the company that Thorngren co-founded with Plume reflects a set of deliberate choices that do not happen by accident. Noble Gold’s Texas Depository, education-first intake sequence, guaranteed buyback program, and explicit rejection of high-pressure sales were all built in from the start. Two people building a company from scratch tend to agree on the core problems they are solving. The design of Noble Gold as a business points to a shared conviction that the industry’s standard approach to clients was failing people.

For investors doing thorough due diligence before committing retirement funds, the appropriate approach to Charles Thorngren’s specific role and background is to ask Noble Gold directly. They have a publicly listed phone number (+1-877-646-5347) and a stated commitment to leadership transparency. For any details about Thorngren beyond his status as co-founder that matter to your decision, Noble Gold’s team can answer them. Goldiew will update this profile if Noble Gold adds a public biographical page for Thorngren comparable to Plume’s current profile.

The Operating Philosophy They Built Into Noble Gold

Founder backgrounds explain motivation. The product they actually built shows whether the motivation translated into something real. Noble Gold’s operational structure has several features that directly reflect the problems Plume and Thorngren set out to solve.

Education Before the Sale

Noble Gold leads with free educational materials. The company’s website opens with information about how gold and silver IRAs work, what the IRS rules say, and how the account structure functions, before any mention of specific products or pricing. This is not standard in the industry. Many precious metals companies sequence this the other way: get the phone call first, explain the product later.

Noble Gold’s specialist calls are positioned as conversations with advisors, not closers. The company’s public framing is that specialists are there to inform decisions, not to push clients toward a transaction. Whether a given client ultimately opens an account or not, the intake process is designed to leave them better informed. That is a product philosophy, not just a tagline.

The Texas Depository

Noble Gold operates its own depository in Texas. Most gold IRA companies route clients to third-party depositories, typically in Delaware or a handful of other states. Noble’s Texas facility is owned and operated by the company itself, and it is prominently featured on their website as a differentiator.

For IRA-held metals, IRS rules require storage at an IRS-approved depository (see IRS Publication 590-B). Noble’s Texas facility meets that requirement. For clients in the southern United States, having metals stored in Texas rather than 1,500 miles away in Delaware is a meaningful operational difference, even if it does not change the legal structure of the account.

The existence of a company-owned depository also reflects a specific level of operational investment. Building and running your own storage facility rather than outsourcing to a third party is a commitment that not every gold IRA company has made.

Home Delivery for Non-IRA Purchases

Noble Gold offers direct home delivery for precious metals purchased outside of an IRA. This option is available for clients who want physical possession of gold, silver, platinum, or palladium independently of their retirement account structure.

The IRS requires that metals held inside an IRA stay at an approved depository. Home delivery does not apply to IRA-held assets. For clients who want to hold some physical metal personally, outside of any retirement account, Noble Gold’s home delivery option covers that through their primary purchase process. Not every gold IRA company offers this.

Guaranteed Buyback

Noble Gold advertises a guaranteed buyback program for metals purchased through them. A buyback guarantee gives clients a known exit pathway and reduces the risk of having to sell metals independently at whatever price the secondary market offers on a given day.

The terms and conditions of the buyback apply at the time of sale. Confirm the specific pricing methodology and notice requirements directly with Noble Gold before purchase. A buyback guarantee does not protect against price declines in the underlying metals. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Consult a licensed financial advisor for guidance specific to your situation.

No High-Pressure Sales Structure

Noble Gold’s public company statement explicitly names “high-pressure sales” as the industry norm they built against. This is consistent with what their endorser Kevin Sorbo says in their public marketing: “I don’t gamble with my future. You shouldn’t either. That’s why I partnered with Noble Gold Investments.”

That framing from Sorbo, a conservative-leaning celebrity endorser, is not about investment returns or price predictions. It is about a protect-what-you-have philosophy applied to retirement savings. Noble Gold does not make claims about gold prices going up or the stock market going down. The positioning is about protection and preservation, not speculation. That framing aligns with the 45 to 65-year-old retirement-focused audience that gold IRA companies actually serve well. Clients approaching retirement cannot afford to rebuild a portfolio from zero. They are not speculating. They are protecting.

Noble Gold by the Numbers

Founders and philosophy set context. Operating scale sets a different kind of context. Here is what Noble Gold’s public website states, verified by Goldiew in 2026:

16,000+

Investors served

$2.5B

Wealth safeguarded

4.9

Avg. Google rating

BBB ✓

BBB Accredited

For independent context: Goldiew’s own moderated user reviews give Noble Gold 4.67 stars across 9 verified reviews as of 2026, with an “Excellent Reputation” safety index. That is a smaller sample than Noble’s Google rating, but it runs in the same direction. Goldiew verifies reviews before publishing; the count reflects manually approved entries only.

Noble Gold’s marketing references industry experience going back to 2003. Their public website states: “helping Americans safeguard over $2.5 billion in wealth with Gold and Silver IRAs since 2003.” Separately, they list “20+ years of experience.” The corporate entity Noble Gold Investments is more recent. Noble Gold does not prominently state a specific incorporation year on their public pages. The “since 2003” framing reflects the founding team’s combined industry experience rather than a confirmed corporate registration date. If the exact founding year matters for your due diligence, the California Secretary of State’s business search is the authoritative source.

Noble Gold’s registered office: 16830 Ventura Blvd, Suite 326, Encino, CA 91436. Phone: +1-877-646-5347. Email: [email protected]. A real address, a real phone number, and a named CEO are minimum expectations for any company you give retirement funds to. Noble Gold clears all three.

Is Noble Gold Right for You? A Quick Framework

This is not financial advice. It is a practical sorting function for the most common fit questions Goldiew sees from prospective Noble Gold clients. For guidance specific to your financial situation, consult a licensed financial advisor before moving retirement funds.

Noble Gold may fit your situation if:

  • You have approximately $20,000 or more in eligible retirement funds (industry-reported threshold; confirm the current minimum directly with Noble Gold before proceeding)
  • You want a company where the CEO is publicly named and the phone line reaches a human specialist
  • You value an education-first intake where you understand the account structure before being asked to choose metals
  • You prefer Texas-based storage, or you have a preference for a company that runs its own depository rather than outsourcing
  • You want a guaranteed buyback option so you have a clear exit pathway for the metals you purchase
  • You are interested in physical metal ownership outside of an IRA and want a home delivery option alongside your IRA

Noble Gold may not be the best fit if:

  • You have $50,000 or more in eligible funds and want the company with the most third-party recognition: Augusta Precious Metals holds five consecutive Money Magazine Best Overall Gold IRA Company awards (2022 to 2026) and an Investopedia Most Transparent designation for the same period
  • You need a depository network spread across multiple states or want established coast-to-coast third-party storage partnerships
  • You are looking for a company with a longer public track record of client volume in the hundreds of thousands
  • You want a company with a full team of named executives and dedicated public biographies for all founders, not just one

Neither Noble Gold nor Augusta is the universally right answer for every person in this space. The honest answer depends on your account size, storage preference, minimum threshold, and how you want to be treated during the intake process. The direct comparison between the two is covered in Goldiew’s full Noble Gold Investments review.

Request Noble Gold’s free information guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the CEO of Noble Gold Investments?

Collin Plume holds the title of President and CEO. He is the publicly identified executive on Noble Gold’s “who we are” page, with a full biographical profile. He brings 15+ years of combined experience in property insurance, commercial real estate, and precious metals, and recorded more than $28 million in precious metals sales in a single year before co-founding Noble Gold.

Who is Charles Thorngren and what is his role at Noble Gold?

Charles Thorngren is consistently described in industry coverage as a co-founder of Noble Gold Investments. Noble Gold’s current corporate website does not feature a standalone biographical profile for Thorngren equivalent to Plume’s public page. For current, verified details about his specific role and background at Noble Gold, contact the company directly at +1-877-646-5347.

When was Noble Gold Investments founded?

Noble Gold’s marketing states “helping Americans safeguard over $2.5 billion in wealth with Gold and Silver IRAs since 2003” and references “20+ years of experience.” The corporate entity Noble Gold Investments is more recent. The company does not prominently publish a specific incorporation date on their public website. For the official founding date, check the California Secretary of State business search or contact Noble Gold directly.

What is the minimum investment to open a Noble Gold IRA?

The industry-reported minimum for a Noble Gold IRA is around $20,000 in eligible retirement funds. This figure is not confirmed on Noble Gold’s public website. Verify the current minimum directly with Noble Gold’s team before initiating a rollover or transfer. Consult your tax advisor regarding which account types are eligible. We are not financial advisors and this is not tax or investment advice.

Is Noble Gold Investments a legitimate company?

Noble Gold is a BBB Accredited Business, reports 16,000+ clients served, and carries a 4.9 average Google rating per their own public website (verified 2026). They operate from a registered California address with a publicly listed phone number and named CEO. Independently, Goldiew’s moderated user reviews give Noble Gold 4.67 stars across 9 verified reviews with an “Excellent Reputation” safety index. No investment in precious metals is risk-free, and past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Verify any precious metals company through the Better Business Bureau, SEC EDGAR, and your state’s securities regulator before committing retirement funds. See also: FINRA’s investor alert on precious metals fraud.

How does Noble Gold’s Texas Depository work for an IRA?

IRS rules require that precious metals held inside a self-directed IRA must be stored at an IRS-approved depository, not at home (see IRS Publication 590-B). Noble Gold’s Texas Depository is an IRS-approved facility owned by the company itself, rather than a third-party partner. For IRA clients, metals are shipped directly to the Texas facility after purchase. For non-IRA purchases of physical metals, Noble Gold separately offers direct home delivery. Confirm the specific logistics, insurance details, and any storage fees directly with Noble Gold during your consultation.

How does Noble Gold compare to Augusta Precious Metals?

Augusta Precious Metals is Goldiew’s top-rated gold IRA company, holding five consecutive Money Magazine Best Overall Gold IRA Company awards (2022 to 2026). Augusta’s industry-reported minimum is around $50,000. Noble Gold’s industry-reported minimum is around $20,000. Noble Gold operates its own Texas Depository; Augusta uses established third-party custodians and depositories. Augusta’s process centers on a one-on-one web conference with a salaried, non-commissioned educator. Noble Gold’s process centers on a specialist call after account setup. Both companies carry excellent BBB standing and strong customer ratings. For clients with $50,000 or more, we recommend reading Augusta’s full Goldiew review before deciding. This is not financial advice; consult a licensed advisor for your specific situation.

Sources and Verification

Facts in this profile come from the following sources, each verified by Goldiew’s research team in 2026:

Charles Thorngren’s biographical details that are not confirmed on Noble Gold’s own public website are identified as industry-reported in this profile. For the most current and accurate executive information, contact Noble Gold directly.

This guide is reviewed and updated quarterly to reflect changes in IRS rules, partner offers, and company policies. For questions, corrections, or to report inaccuracies, contact our editorial team via the contact page.

Last reviewed: May 16, 2026

editorial team
Goldiew Research & Editorial
Independent research on gold, jewelry, and precious metals, from selling and loans to gold IRAs. About our methodology →

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