https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/inside-insane-lives-worlds-richest-21940934?utm_source=mirror_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Mirror12at17&utm_campaign=daily_newsletterInside insane lives of world's richest royal family worth more than £1trillion
The British royal family has a combined fortune of £68billion but that pales in comparison to the vast wealth of the world's richest monarchies
By Jane Lavender Assistant Editor
11:05, 4 MAY 2020
The British monarchy might be one of the richest royal families on the planet with an estimated combined fortune of £68billion - but it only ranks at number five on the global list. The Queen was believed to have a personal fortune of £425million in 2016 with the majority of the British monarchy's wealth coming from inherited land and investments. This is in addition to the sovereign grant to pay for the royal family's expenses, which comes from taxpayers. But that wealth pales in comparison to the coffers of the House of Saud, the ruling family in Saudi Arabia. The monarchy is said to worth more than £1TRILLION more than 16 times the wealth of the British royal family. And with that amount of cash, the royal family expects only the best. Private jets, luxury superyachts, helicopters, palaces, luxury chateaus, gold furniture in their lavish homes, and even a gold-plated tissue dispenser. Among one of the biggest spenders in the royal family is Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. On one wall in one of his Saudi Arabian royal palaces hangs a Leonardo Da Vinci painting worth £360million. The crown prince, who is heir to the throne, is also said to have bought a £400million superyacht, £240million chateau in France, two homes in London, and an entire compound on the southern coast of Spain. As deputy prime minister his father King Salman is Prime Minister the crown prince is said to be the power behind the throne. Along with his massive spending, he has also made some important cultural changes to Saudi Arabia, including removing the ban on women being able to drive. But with a personal fortune of almost £2.5billion, he can certainly afford to splash the cash. Unlike the British royal family, the Saudi monarchy hasn't gained its wealth from land instead, their vast fortune comes from the huge oil reserves in the Middle Eastern country. The crown prince also seems to have turned his attention to acquiring a football club and is believed to be heading a consortium who wants to buy Newcastle United. However, he refuses to be drawn on how large his vast wealth actually is. In an interview with CBS News, the Crown Prince insisted that his finances were a private matter. He added: "I’m a rich person and not a poor person. I’m not Gandhi or Mandela. I’m a member of the ruling family that existed for hundreds of years before the founding of Saudi Arabia."
His father the king, who came to the throne in 2015, is believed to have a personal fortune of £13.5billion. One of the wealthiest members of the Saudi royal family is Prince Alwaleed, who was said to have a fortune of £15billion and was the 45th richest man in the world. But then he was arrested under the orders of the crown prince. He was one of the three members of the royal family to be arrested in November 2017 as part of an anti-corruption drive by the government. He was freed a few months later and is believed to have made a financial settlement and fallen out of the Forbes rich lists. However, the prince still owns a huge superyacht which was used in the James Bond film, Never Say Never Again. He also has but a mere two palaces with a third currently being built. The Kingdom Palace is the residence the prince calls his main home. Worth £105million the sand-coloured palace boasts 317 rooms, five kitchens, including one solely for desserts, a lagoon-shaped pool, and a 45-seat cinema. In addition, 1,500 tonnes of Italian marble was used in the palace's construction and the floors are covered in silk oriental carpets. And there's no chance of the prince ever getting bored when he's at home as the palace has 250 TVs. As well as his lavish palaces, Prince Alwaleed also owns the Kingdon Resort, which has three lakes and huge gardens. His third palace, which will be called Kingdom Oasis, will have its own private zoo. However, despite their lavish spending, the Saudi royal family insists they plough billions into charitable projects every year. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has set up his own charitable organisation, Alwaleed Philanthropies, which he has given billions to. He said: "Philanthropy is a personal responsibility, which I embarked upon more than three decades ago and is an intrinsic part of my Islamic faith."
And when King Salman came to the throne one of his first acts was to donate £35billion to ordinary Saudi people. The money as given to "all state employees, soldiers, students, and pensioners, as well as generous grants to various professional associations, and literary and sports clubs".
Three million people out of Saudia Arabia's five million population work for the state and everyone got the equivalent of two month's pay. They have also donated millions to further the cause of female entrepreneurs.
