The richest monarchs in the world: the top 10 plus Queen Elizabeth

What is the net worth of Queen Elizabeth, and how does she compare with other amazingly wealthy kings and queens across the world? Check out this list (based on calculations by Business Insider, Forbes, CEO World and The Guardian) to see who's in the top 10 and what kind of valuables they possess.

King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand (also known as Rama X) is considered the richest monarch of the world at this moment. His estimated net worth is $43 billion.

Born in 1952, Vajiralongkorn has married five times and divorced three times. Currently, he is married to two women at the same time: one of them is the Thai queen and the other is his royal consort.

The alleged animosity between the two wives - the consort being a qualified pilot who often goes flying with the king on one of his 38 planes and helicopters - created a scandal in Thailand in 2020.

The Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, long held the number 1 spot of richest royal in the world. He did not lose any money but was simply surpassed by Vajiralongkorn of Thailand. Bolkiah currently has $28 billion, several financial media estimate.

Among other things, he spends his money on his Istana Nurul Iman palace, considered the biggest in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records, with 1,788 rooms.

(Image: The Sultan's son-in-law Abdullah Al-Hashimi (l), his daughter Fadzilah and his son Mateen (r) in the royal palace)

Bolkiah also owns thousands of cars, among which hundreds of Rolls-Royces, likes to get a $20,000 haircut regularly, and wears watches like this one on the photo - a unique item with an astronomical price.

King Salman of Saudi Arabia has approximately $18 billion, most of which are profits from the oil industry and the natural gas and petroleum company Saudi Aramco. He likes to spend his money on the most fabulous yachts and expensive paintings.

The Saud family in total is said to be worth $1.4 trillion, which includes the wealth of his nephew, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (or MBS).

Both princes sparked controversies in the past years: Alwaleed for charges of corruption and MBS for his role in the murder of critical journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

He's the Emir of Abu Dhabi and also the boss of all the United Arab Emirates together (there are seven: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain). Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan is worth an estimated $15 billion.

Besides expensive cars, planes, and yachts, Al Nahyan's family likes to invest in real estate. They own Dubai's Burj Khalifa skyscraper, which is the tallest building in the world, and an estimated $7.1 billion (£5.5 billion) in London real estate.

The Guardian estimates that these London properties bring in approximately $205.9 million (£160 million) per year for the family.

This monarch likes to ride the best breeds of horses and spends millions to house them in stables. Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has an estimated net worth of $14 billion, so there's plenty of horses he can buy.

Sheikh Mohammed also spends a lot of money on attorneys and litigation costs, as he's been fighting with his former sixth wife, Princess Haya, over their divorce, fortune, and the custody of their children.

A London court found in October 2021 that the Sheikh had authorized the hacking of the princess's and her lawyers phone with advanced spyware, The Times reports. He has also been found guilty by a the England and Wales high court of abducting his daughters Shamsa and Latifa, The Guardian states.

The King of Morocco receives a salary for his work that one could call modest: $488,604, Business Insider reports. So how does he arrive at a wealth that is estimated by various media to lie between 2.1 and 8.2 billion dollars?

As it turns out, Mohammed of Morocco is "an astute businessman and banker," The Bustiness Standard reports. He also owns a lot of land in the country. The king likes to splurge on fancy real estate, such as the 12-bedroom Parisian mansion near the Eiffel Tower that he bought for €80 million ($90 million) in late 2020, per The Times.

As for day-to-day spending, he's not doing any of it on his palaces. Their operating budget, estimated by Forbes at $960,000 per day, is entirely paid for by the Moroccan people.

It's a tiny country with a very rich prince: Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein has an estimated 3.5 to 7.2 billion in holdings. (The Business Standard goes with the lowest number, 3.5 billion, while Bloomberg and Lovemoney cite 4.4, and Insider the highest number, 7.2 billion, as his assets.)

Making billions with the private wealth firm Liechtenstein Global Trust, Prince Adam likes to spend his money on masterpieces from the likes of Rubens, Raphael and Salviati that he shares with the people through the Liechtenstein Museum.

(Image: the Royal Vaduz palace in Liechtenstein, by Henrique Ferreira/ Unsplash)

Besides art, the Prince of Liechtenstein likes a good wine. He owns several wineries and an agricultural company which, in return, make him a lot of money too.

Henri, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, has an estimated net worth of $4 billion. He's one of the most secretive royals when it comes to the comings and goings of his money.

He does not seem to be spending it on a whole lot of castles, cause he's living with his kids and grandkids! Henri, his wife, and their five children and four grandchildren all live together in the royal Berg Castle. While they do have a holiday home in Southern France, per Business Standard, it is unclear what the rest of Henri's spending and profits are about.

Henri doesn't like it when financial publications like Forbes write about his fortune. In 2019, when the magazine made list of the richest monarchs in the world, he complained on Twitter:
"The figures announced for years in certain publications relating to the fortune of the Grand Ducal Court are pure fantasy. In reality, this fortune amounts to only a tiny percentage of the figures recently circulated," the tweet by @courgranducale said.

Born in 1980, this man with the eternal smile is one of the youngest sovereigns in the world. His estimated net worth is 2.1 billion dollars, Business Standard reports.

The Sheikh of Qatar's fortune comes mainly from the Qatar Investment Authority, which uses the profits from the country's oil and gas reserves to invest in foreign companies like Sainsbury's and Harrods. It also has a share in the Shard in London, one of the tallest buildings in Europe.

(Image: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, left, and Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz, right)

The Sheikh famously owns Paris Saint Germain, the football team with a €374,440,000 payroll for the 2021-2022 season and top players like Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé.

He's the third richest monarch in Europe and, once again, he rules in a tiny country. Albert of Monaco has an estimated 1 billion thanks, in part, to the Monte Carlo Opera and Casino which his family runs.

The prince used to spend a lot of his money on lavish parties and travels, where he would be photographed with celebrities and supermodels. He also took over the classic car collection of his dad, Prince Rainier III, and the Philadelphia home of his mom, Grace Kelly, which ABC news estimates at $754,000.

In 2011, Albert married Charlene Wittstock in one of the most expensive weddings ever held. Marie Claire estimates that the ceremony cost between 65 and 70 million dollars. The couple now live in the Prince's palace with their twins Gabrielle and Jacques.

Perhaps surprisingly, it takes a while to get to the most famous monarch of the entire list. At position 11, here she is: Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom. Her individual net worth is estimated at £350 million ($428.3m) by the Sunday Times, while Forbes rounds it off at 500 million.

The net worth of the entire royal family in Britain is much greater. The Firm, as they are called, have an approximate 28 billion dollars going around between Crown estates in England and Scotland, and rent from several Duchies.

The Queen is famously frugal, spending very little on personal pleasures, but she makes an exception for her horses. The Evening Standard estimates that keeping and taking care of her stables and thoroughbreds costs about 600,000 pounds (850,000 dollars) per year.