There is Polish guide/custiodian of Chojnik Castle, Andrzej CiosaĆski, who has popular in Poland series of "lectures" about history. He has made several claims that were new to me, but in last one he stated, that treasure of Order of the Knights Templar was nonexistent as majority of their wealth came from their assets, debtors especially. How much of it is true?
For reference - claim (warning - in Polish)
For the most part.
The order began its rise as a band of poor monks, complete with vows of chastity and poverty. Holy men deciding to "take up the sword" was highly controversial in the church, but by directly supporting the crusades in defense of Christianity they were able to gain support and fund-raise across Europe very effectively. Joining the Knights Templar also required one to donate all of his holdings, and noblemen were common initiates. On top of that, eventually a Papal Bull was issued that excluded them from taxation.
Those advantages set them up perfectly to become the most trusted and powerful bank in Europe. They had the power to secure their assets, the piety to overcome accusations of usury, and the reputation to be trusted by most of Christendom. If a nobleman was going to join the Crusades, he could deposit his wealth with them at home, get an encrypted receipt, and then use that receipt as money in the Holy Land. It was useful if not necessary for the nobles and incredibly profitable for the Knights Templar.
While we don't know exactly what they plundered from the Holy Land, we do know that entering the crusades was very costly and only profitable if one could acquire (and keep) the valuable land -- so it's safe to assume that they didn't gain much (beyond reputation) from victory on the battlefield. We also know that the Knights Templar steadily shifted their focus from war to finance, indicating that it was generally more beneficial to the organization.
Of course, that financial power coupled with a decline in reputation from lost crusades also led to their downfall. As soon as their perceived piety diminished, the powerful men that owed them substantial fortunes seized the opportunity and labelled them heretical, in turn allowing all assets to be seized righteously. Owning property in France doesn't do you much good when the King decides that it's his again.