Royals: Who is the Richest of them All?
by: Caitlyn Ng
It’s a little over mid-month and you’re probably already feeling the pinch of payday being too far away. If only you had more money; you wouldn’t be in this hand-to-mouth existence. We’re not sure why, but we decided to drive the knife in further. We thought, hey let’s look up the richest people doing almost nothing (that is Monarchs) and let you in on the numbers of their vast fortune.
You will find in this SaveMoney.my compiled list that it isn't the monarchies in the Western countries who rule with heaps of wealth sitting underneath them; the Eastern monarchies actually take the top five spots on this list, with two neighbouring monarchies coming in on the list as well! Here are the top 5 richest royals in the world!
1) King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Thailand): $30 billion / RM97 billion
The second oldest monarch on this list, King Bhumibol Adulyadej is 87 years old and still going strong as the current head of state in Thailand. He first started his reign in June 1946, after ascending to the throne following the death of his brother by gunshot wound, and has earned the title of not only the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history, but also that of the world's longest-serving current head of state. He holds the status of "lèse majesté", which essentially means "considered inviolable".
He has accumulated his approximately RM97 billion wealth via the the Crown Property Bureau, a unique corporation that is neither private nor government-owned; much of the wealth gained is built through investments in native Thai businesses like Siam Cement and Siam Commercial Bank.
2) Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (Brunei): $20 billion / RM65 billion
His full name runs as thus: Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien, and he is the current leader of Brunei. At the age of 68, he leads the oil-rich nation after his father abdicated the throne in October 1967. He is one of the few monarchs with absolute powers left in the world with full executive authority, including emergency powers since 1962 under the 1959 Constitution.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah's RM65 billion wealth comes from the natural resources of his country, and oil in particular. He is known for spending his riches on his love for the most expensive and rarest cars, of which they number in the thousands.
3) King Abdullah (Saudi Arabia): $18 billion / RM58 billion
At the age of 90 years old, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud tops the list in age but also makes it into the top three positions as one of the richest monarchs in the world. He is one of the relatively few ruling monarchs and is the head of a prodigious family (he has had over 30 wives and has fathered more than 40 children!) as well. In August 2005, he ascended to the throne after the death of his half-brother, King Fahd bin Abdulaziz and has since ruled over the kingdom, even outliving two of his Crown Princes.
Saudi Arabia is one of the well-known countries for its wealth in oil and the state-owned Saudi Aramco is the oil company with monopoly over the country's reserves. Although there have been speculations about the health of the company, the royal family has been actively channelling much of the oil-generated wealth to other businesses outside the country.
4) Sheikh Khalifa (Abu Dhabi): $15 billion / RM49 billion
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at the age of 66 years old, is the current President of the UAE and the Emir (Ruler) of Abu Dhabi as he is the eldest son of the former President, whose death was in November 2004. Sheikh Khalifa's wealth of approximately RM49 billion is thanks to his country's underlying basis of almost 10% of the world’s oil reserves, in addition to global properties, global investments and international family interests.
As he is a known philanthropist, he has donated extensively to the University of Wales (a building in the theology department is named after him) and the University of Texas (its M.D. Anderson Cancer Centre received funds to establish a cancer treatment clinic).
5) Sheikh Mohammed (Dubai): $4 billion / RM13 billion
We have come to the end of our list, but that doesn't make Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (aged 65) any less important! He is the Vice President of the UAE, the constitutional monarch of Dubai and rounds up our list of the top five. It's no wonder how; his wealth of approximately RM13 billion comes from the vast oil reserves that Dubai is also blessed with. It was also due to the emirate's Western-style model of business that its economy has continued to flourish despite the financial crisis of 2007 - 2008, and is now emerging as a leading financial and tourist hub for the Mid-east.
With a hobby of thoroughbred horse racing and breeding, the Sheikh is well-known internationally for being the owner of Darley Stud, "which is the biggest horse breeding operation in the world with farms in the United States, Ireland, England, and Australia". His horses have also won at various important "Group One / Grade I" races.
So there you have it, the World's Richest Royals list! If you're looking for something a little more closer to home, why not check out our list of Top 10 Richest Malaysians in 2014!
* Caitlyn Ng is an Investigative Journalist of SaveMoney.my, an online consumer advice portal which aims to help Malaysians save money through smart (and most of the time painless) savings in their daily banking, technology, and lifestyle spending habits.
