The Richest Royals in the World

Royals are often among the wealthiest people in the society which they lead. In the year 2011, Forbes carried out a survey of the richest royals in the world as per their net worth. Forbes did not include the properties that are held by their crowns or the governments they lead. The list of the richest royals as established by Forbes is as analyzed below. The net worth of these royals is in U.S. dollars.

4 Top richest royal

Bhumibol Adulyadej ($30.0 billion)

King Bhumibol Adulyadej was the 9th monarch of Thailand and the longest-serving head of state in the world ,having served for 70 years.

After the Asian financial crisis, the net worth of Bhumibol Adulyadej household and that of the Crown Property Bureau (CPB) was estimated at between 10 and 20 billion US dollars. He was listed first in the World’s Richest Royals by Forbes in 2008 with a net worth of about $35 billion. The amount listed by Forbes was however disputed by the Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, citing arguments that the king’s net worth was incorrectly posted and that CPB’s assets should not be included. Forbes did another revised publication in 2009 that still indicated that Bhumibol was still first at $30 billion.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah ($20.0 billion)

Hassanal Bolkiah is Brunei’s incumbent Prime Minister. He has ruled since 1967, following the renouncement of his father from office. The Sultan is worth $20 billion and is ranked among the wealthiest individuals in the world as per Forbes publication in 2008. He is ranked as the second richest royal in the world coming second after King Bhumibol of Thailand whose net worth is believed to be around $30 billion.

Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz ($18.0 billion)

Abdullah was the king of Saudi Arabia from 2005 until his death in 2015. In his time, he had over 1,000 horses and owned Janadria Farm which is located in the suburbs of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's major city. Abdullah bin Abdul was among the wealthiest individuals in the world and according to the Forbes’ financial magazine of 2011, his wealth and that of his immediate family were listed as being at $21 billion. According to the same magazine, his personal worth is $18 billion which is almost the wealth of the entire family.

Khalifa bin Zayed ($15.0 billion)

Khalifa bin Zayed is Abu Dhabi’s Emir as well as the president of the UAE. He is also the chairman of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority that has an asset base of over $600 billion. Being the chairman of the investment authority he manages these assets. The entire Nahyan family where Khalifa bin Zayed comes from is believed to be worth $150 billion as a family. Forbes however, an estimate of is personal wealth is in the regions of $15 billion.

Conclusion

The list above of the richest royals in the world as established by Forbes may not be the exact net worth of the respective royals. At some point it is not easy to determine their net worth while excluding that of their crowns as some have total financial powers over them.