All royalty are certainly not equal, not with this list of richest royals and monarchs in the world.
Before diving in you may want to read up on the The Richest Kings in Africa and How They Flaunt Their Wealth.
There are probably hundreds of recognised monarchs in the world but these stand out in terms of their wealth.
While putting together this list we looked at the work done by the CEOWorld Magazine and the Business Insider. Only personal net worth was considered; properties held by the state were not included.
So here are the world’s richest/wealthiest monarchs
Vajiralongkorn – $30 billion
Vajiralongkorn is the King of Thailand and only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit. He was made Prince at age 20. He became King in December 2016 a few months after his father’s death.
He is regarded as the richest monarch in the world worth an estimated $30 billion – $40 billion. As head of the Thailand royal family he appoints six members of the governing board of the Crown Property Bureau.
In 2018 King Vajiralongkorn was granted full, personal ownership of royal assets thought to be worth at least $30 billion. The Crown Property Bureau, which controlled the royal fortune on behalf of the monarchy, stated it transferred ownership of the assets following a change in the law a year earlier.
Hassanal Bolkiah – $20 billion
Hassanal Bolkiah is the 29th and current Sultan of Brunei. He is also by virtue of being Sultan, the Prime Minister of Brunei. The Sultan is the monarchical head of state and government.
One of the last absolute monarchs in the world, Sultan Hassanal has been ranked among the richest individuals in the world worth between $20 billion – $28 billion. He is also the longest reigning monarch in the world, behind Queen Elizabeth II, having been on the throne for over 53 years.
The bulk of his wealth is profits from the oil and gas industry which he controls.
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud – $18 billion
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has been the King of Saudi Arabia since 23 January 2015. The King is the monarchical head of state and government who holds absolute power.
With his wealth at an estimated $18 billion most of this comes from profits in the oil industry which is Saudi Arabia’s biggest revenue earner.
King Salman was implicated in the Panama Papers, linked with two companies in the British Virgin Islands taking mortgages in excess of US$34 million to purchase property in London. His role, however has not been specified.
Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan – $15 billion
Khalifa bin Zayed is the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and also the Emir of Abu Dhabi as well as the supreme commander of the United Arab Emirates armed forces.
As chairman of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority he oversees the over $875 billion in assets under the authority and has amassed a fortune of over $15 billion personally. He also sits atop the Supreme Petroleum Council as Chairman.
Mohammed VI – $5 billion
Mohammed VI became King of Morocco after the death of his father King Hassan in 1999. The King’s net worth has been estimated at between $2 billion and $5 billion.
He is widely seen as the richest king (monarch) in Africa. He has significant investments and portion of his wealth in SIGER (his leading holding company) and SNI or Al Mada (a large private Moroccan holding company mainly owned by the Moroccan royal family. This conglomerate holds significant stake in some of the country’s largest companies – AttijariWafa (banking), Nareva (energy), Managem (mining) Lafarge Ciments and several others.
Some of his spendings have attracted criticism. For eg, In the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic Mohammed VI was reported to have purchased an €80 million mansion in Paris.
Hans-Adam II – $4 billion
Hans-Adam II (Johannes Adam Ferdinand Alois Josef Maria Marco d’Aviano Pius) is the current reigning Prince of Liechtenstein. He also holds the titles – Duke of Troppau and Jägerndorf, and Count of Rietberg.
As Prince he is the head of state of Liechtenstein and has amassed quite a fortune. He owns the LGT banking group (the largest family owned banking group in the world). He has a family fortune of $US7.6 billion and a personal fortune of about $US4 billion.
He is Europe’s wealthiest monarch and owns an extensive art collection, some of which are displayed at the Liechtenstein museum in Vienna.
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum – $4 billion
Sheikh Mohammed is the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates as well as the Emir of Dubai. He became head of the Dubai Emirate in 2006 after the death of his brother Sheikh Maktoum.
Described as one of the world’s most prominent real estate developers most of his billionaire net worth comes from real estate. He oversaw the growth of Dubai into a globally renowned city. Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between the assets of the Government of Dubai and those of the ruling Al Maktoum family.
Some of the big developmental projects he has overseen include the Dubai International Finance Centre, The Palm Islands, Dubai Internet city, the Burj Al Arab hotel etc.
According to the laws of Dubai, the ruling family owns all undeveloped land in Dubai. Sheikh Mohammed has definitely benefited from this with a number of businesses and assets held by his two companies – Dubai World and Dubai Holdings. He has an estimated $4 billion net worth.
Henri (Henri Albert Gabriel Félix Marie Guillaume) – $4 billion
Henri has been the Grand Duke of Luxembourg since 7 October 2000. He is a first cousin of King Philippe of Belgium. Henri’s net worth has been estimated at $4 billion.
The Grand Duke retains the constitutional power to appoint the Prime Minister and government, promulgate laws and accredit ambassadors. He is also commander in Chief of the armed forces and represents Luxembourg in foreign affairs.
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (Emir of Qatar) – $2.1 billion
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani is the Emir of Qatar. As Emir he is an absolute monarch, head of state of Qatar as well as commander in chief of the armed forces. He has been Emir since 25 June 2013 when his father abdicated the throne. Under his rule the people of Qatar has limited political and civil rights.
Tamim heads the Qatar Investment Authority that has invested billions in European and British businesses. He has an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion.
Albert II – $1 billion
Albert II is the Sovereign Prince of Monaco and regarded as one of the wealthiest monarchs in Europe. With asset value of over $1 billion the Prince owns land in Monaco and France, shares in Société des Bains de Mer (which runs Monaco’s casinos and other entertainment properties).
A car enthusiast he owns vehicles like the BMW Hydrogen 7, the Lexus RX 400h among several cars. He also owns a Dassault Aviation Falcon 7X 14 seater jet.