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WORLD NEWS
MAY 3, 2019 / 7:33 AM / A YEAR AGO
REUTERS
Factbox: Thailand's new king among world's wealthiest monarchs
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who will be officially crowned on May 4 as part of elaborate three-day coronation ceremonies, has been listed as the world’s richest monarch by publications such as Business Insider in 2018.
His father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was also listed by Forbes magazine as the world’s richest royal ruler in 2011, edging out the Sultan of Brunei.
Estimates of Vajiralongkorn’s personal wealth start at $30 billion, according to Business Insider.
That puts him among the wealthiest individual rulers, although when it comes to royal families, Saudi Arabia’s tops the list with an estimated $1.7 trillion, according an MSN Money report in 2019. The Thai royal family ranked fifth in that list.
Reuters was unable to independently confirm those estimates.
The Crown Property Bureau did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment. The Bureau of the Royal Household did not respond to written questions about the value of royal assets.
The following is a look at some of the Thai king’s most significant assets:
PROPERTY
Most of Vajiralongkorn’s wealth is held in the Crown Property Bureau, which holds title to 6,560 hectares (16,210 acres) of land in Thailand, with 40,000 rental contracts nationwide, including 17,000 in the capital.
Vajiralongkorn in 2017 placed the Crown Property Bureau under his direct control and later announced the removal its tax exempt status.
