Why is Gold's High Electronegativity Misleading in its Natural Occurrence?

[bobsmith76]

Gold has rather high electronegativity. If that is the case then why does it often appear in nature in its pure form? I would think it would be attracting a lot of molecules and binding with other elements.

 

[Borek]

Electronegativity is only a proxy for things like reactivity - that means there is a correlation, but drawing too far fetched conclusions is dangerous. Gold reactivity is apparently a good example of these dangers.

Note that there are many definitions of electronegativity and not all yield high numbers for gold.