GLD Gold ETF is Bigger Than … Boeing, 150 Elephants, 4 Trillion Movie Nights

Gold prices are in focus in 2011. Many investors will continue to buy gold as a hedge against inflation as commodity prices soar and the prospect of higher interest rates and a weak dollar loom large. As such, physical gold ETFs such as the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (NYSE: GLD)�and the iShares Gold Trust ETF (NYSE: IAU) remain popular � as do mining stocks like Goldcorp (NYSE: GG) or the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX).

But among gold investments, the GLD gold ETF is king � with a whopping $56.3 billion in assets as of this writing, second in the ETF fund universe only to the ubiquitous SPDR S&P 500 Fund (NYSE: SPY). It is 10 times bigger than the IAU gold ETF fund.

Just how big is the SPDR Gold Shares ETF and its $56.3 billion in assets? Let�s take a look:

GLD Assets vs. ETFs

#2 ETF by Assets: As said, GLD is the second largest ETF on Wall Street.

GLD = #8 + #9 + #10: It is as large the eighth-, ninth- and tenth-largest ETF funds combined � that would be the iShares Barclays TIPS Bond Fund (NYSE: TIPS) at $19.3 billion, the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (NYSE: VTI) at $19.2 billion and the iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund (NYSE: IWM) at $16.4 billion.

5% of Total ETF Investment: At the end of 2010, ETF assets topped $1 Trillion. That means 5 cents of every dollar in ETFs can be found in the SPDR Gold Shares fund.

GLD Assets vs. Blue Chip Stocks

As Big As: If GLD was a publicly traded company, its $56.3 billion �market cap� would rank it as the 99th largest corporation on Wall Street as of this writing. That�s bigger than big-time blue chips Kraft (NYSE: KFT), Visa (NYSE: V), Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Ford (NYSE: F).

2x as Big: By this same measure, GLD would be twice as big as aerospace and defense powerhouse Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), Dow component Travellers (NYSE: TRV) and coffee king Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX).

3x as Big: The SPDR Gold Shares fund assets are three times as large as big as Flash and Photoshop maker Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE), telecom giant Comcast (NYSE: CMCSA) and aluminum icon� Alcoa (NYSE: AA).

GLD vs. The World

Richer Than Half the Nations: GLD�s assets rank greater than the gross domestic product of all but 67 countries in the world. Southwest Asia�s Oman just misses out at a GDP of $53.7 billion. But at $59.6 billion, Syria could be eclipsed very soon.

What a Zoo: Gold GLD has the equivalent of 39 million ounces of gold in assets. That�s over 1,200 tons, or the weight of nearly 150 elephants. Or for the idolaters out there about 32,400 calves.

Gold Grills for Every Hoosier: $56.3 billion would be more than 7 million� gold teeth — enough for one in the mouth of every Indiana resident. With a few hundred thousand left over.

4 trillion Movie Outings: At $8 a ticket and then $3 for a drink and $3 a popcorn, GLD assets could pay for over 4 trillion tickets to the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie in all its treasure-hunting glory. That would be a seat and snacks for over half the world. Unfortunately, since Johnny Depp is universally popular, that still won�t be enough.� Arrr�

Jeff Reeves is editor of InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing, he did not own a position in any of the stocks named here. Follow him on Twitter via @JeffReevesIP and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook.