Luxury lives and extravagant spending by leaders
There is no information available on the assets many of leaders, statesmen, kings and queens, but most of their assests run into the billions.
The picture shows the interior of private jet of Haji Hassanal Bolkiah the Sultan of Brunei.
Here we take a look at some well-known billionaires from around the world. When you have more money than you can spend in your lifetime, what do you buy?
Well, here is some information about the world's most famous billionaires and the incredibly expensive things they have purchased.
1. Bhumibol Adulyadej
He has been the King of Thailand since 1947. Born in 1927, he is listed as the richest and longest-reigning monarch in the world. According to Forbes, his fortune is estimated to be more than $30 billion.
He's investments are mainly in Thai businesses Siam Cement and Siam Commercial Bank.
Princess Bejaratana was the only child of King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) and was the first cousin of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The princess passed away on July 27, 2011 at the age of 86.
The maximum value of the King's Golden Jubilee Diamond is $12 billion.
The Crown Property Bureau (CPB) manages the King's fortunes. CPB is neither a private nor a government body. Its mission is "to manage the crown property while taking into account sustainable benefits for all stakeholders."
2. Vladimir Putin
The 60-year-old former Russian spy-turned-president Vladimir Putin's net worth is $70 billion. He owns 4.5 percent of Gazprom, which is the leading company that operates the business of extraction, production, transport, and sale of natural gas. Kremlin declared his official annual salary to be $134,034.
Putin is known for his expensive hobbies.
His $500,000 valued Lange & Sohne brand watch is covered in crystal glass and features gold hands.
Putin has an entire collection of watches that are valued at nearly three-quarters of a million dollars.
The president also owns a yacht that is over 175 feet long and costs around $37 million.
Putin is allegedly building a palace for personal use near the Black Sea with a massive and illegal use of state funds.
3. Queen Elizabeth II
The United Kingdom's 90-year-old Queen Elizabeth II has an estimated value of almost $29 billion.
According to research, she is the 25th the richest person in the world.
The wealth comes from property holdings including Balmoral Castle in the Scottish Highlands, stud farms, a fruit farm and marine land throughout the UK.
Balmoral has been one of the residences for members of the British Royal Family since 1852, when the estate and its original castle were purchased privately by Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria.
She is also in possession of extensive artwork and fine jewellery; and one of the world's largest stamp collections built by her grandfather.
4. Muammar Gaddafi
Gaddafi's net worth was not known when he was alive but after he died in 2011 he left behind an estimated $200 billion of assets spread out all over the world. $40 billion was being hidden in the US.
Gaddafi is one of the richest people of all time. To compare, Gaddafi was three times as rich as Carlos Slim, and four times as rich as the business tycoon Warren Buffett.
South African President Jacob Zuma meets with Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli.
He had his own private airline, Afriqiyah One, which was worth approximately $150 million.
5. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud
King Abdullah had an estimated $21 billion in assets. He died in 2015 and his brother King Salman took office.
King Abdullah's funeral attracted many world leaders.
He gifted his daughter a toilet made out of pure gold. Her bride's dress was also made out of gold, which costs $30,000,000 for her marriage.
6. Hassanal Bolkiah
As the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei, his net worth is estimated to be approximately $20 billion. He took the office when his father abdicated in 1967.
It is known that he has the largest collection of the world's rarest and most expensive cars. He has a Rolls-Royce coated with 24-karat gold.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah's 24 carat gold Rolls-Royce limousine.
In fact, some car brands such as Lamborghini, Bentley, Ferrari, Bugatti and Rolls-Royce have made new cars exclusively for Bolkiah that were never sold or advertised to the public. Additionally, his 1,800-room palace, the Istana Nurul Iman, is considered the world's largest private residence.
It is also the largest residential palace in the world.
A view of the throne room in the Sultan's gigantic home.
7. Silvio Berlusconi
The media tycoon, owner of AC Milan, and the longest serving post-war prime minister of Italy has a total net worth of $7.2 billion as of June 2016 according to Bloomberg.
He expanded his media empire in 1980 when he launched Canale 5, Italy's first national commercial television network. He has five children from two marriages. After his second divorce, courts ordered him to pay his second wife €100,000 a day in alimony.
Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
One of his most valued possessions is his Villa in Sardinia, which is worth an estimated €500 million. Villa Certosa sits on 200 acres of one of the most luxurious destinations in the world, Costa Esmeralda. It features three villas, 26 bedrooms, seven swimming pools, a lake and an artificial volcano.
It has an underground cave complete with an emergency exit to the sea. In 2013, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for having sex with an underage prostitute and abuse of power during his time as prime minister. An Italian appeals court later overturned this conviction.
He has faced numerous bribery and fraud charges and in November 2013, Italian Senate voted to expel him from the Parliament
8. Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan
He is the hereditary ruler of the tiny emirate of Abu Dhabi. His total net worth is $23 billion. His money comes from his investments. Besides oil, he controls 97.8 billion barrels of proved reserves. He also runs the world's second-largest sovereign wealth fund, with reported assets worth $773 billion.
He owns the world's largest yacht, called Azzam, which is 180 metres long. The yacht's estimated price is $400 million.
Located at his private compound in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the SBH Royal Auto Gallery includes rare supercars like the Aston Martin One-77, Bugatti EB110, Ferrari SA Aperta, Mercedes-Benz SLR Stirling Moss, Lamborghini Reventon, Maserati MC12 and much more.
9. Prince of Liechtenstein Hans-Adam II
He owns the LGT banking group and has a personal fortune of about $4 billion. His 900-year-old family is the wealthiest royal clan in Europe. He has an extensive art collection including works by Rembrandt and Rubens.
Prince of Liechtenstein Hans-Adam II
Much of his collection is on display for the public at the Liechtenstein Museum in Vienna. He purchased the Badminton Cabinet for $36 million in 2004, the most expensive piece of furniture ever sold. After buying the item, he donated it to the Liechtenstein Museum.
10. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
The Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai is worth around $18 billion.
Al Maktoum is a majority shareholder of Dubai Holding, a conglomerate with stakes in HSBC Holdings and Sony as well as real estate holdings such as New York's Essex House Hotel.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who also serves as the United Arab Emirates' prime minister.
He is a formidable figure in horse racing, and he owns a 3,800-acre farm in Kentucky.
He also bought Australia's Ingham stud farm for a reported $460 million.
Recently, Dubai's sovereign wealth fund paid $5 billion for a stakehold in MGM Mirage and another $825 million to purchase retailer Barneys New York outright.
Copyright © 2024 TRT World.