Why is that metric important? Forbes said that the 80-year-old king had a $35 billion fortune, with his estimated net worth increasing sevenfold during the past year because of the increased transparency of his holdings. The assets are now subject to taxes for the first time, but little else about the portfolio has changed. Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn at a ceremony commemorating former Thai kings, including his father Bhumibol Adulyadej, at the Royal Plaza in Bangkok on October 23, 2016. Updated July 18, 2017 — 6.52pm first published at 12.27pm. Edward Norton. The 67-year-old ascended the throne of Thailand in 2016, after the death of his father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Hassanal Bolkiah is also the first and current Prime Minister of Brunei as well. It confirms the vast land holdings that Forbes used as the basis of its estimate (drawing on a 2005 Thai academic study). The third richest royal is from the Middle East. Its property holdings in the Thai capital are estimated to be worth US$33 billion, according to a 2011 biography on King Vajiralongkorn's father, King Bhumibol, A Life's Work. Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn is carried on a palanquin during his coronation in Bangkok in 2019. King of Thailand Net Worth: According to Thailand's constitution, the King has the power to veto legislation, pardon criminals, and appoint just about anyone he … Yale University Press. Rolling Stone. It’s the king’s own personal property. Some protesters have also called for a boycott of Siam Commercial Bank, in which the king holds a nearly 24% stake. Tens of thousands of peaceful demonstrators have gathered in rallies since early summer, a remarkable political reawakening in a country that abolished the absolute monarchy in favor of a parliamentary system in 1932 but has steadily drifted away from democratic rule. Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia. As of 2020, his net worth is estimated to be around US$30 billion, making him the wealthiest ruler in the world. The vast wealth of Thailand’s royal family has formally turned over its assets with more than $30bn to King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who assumed the throne after the death of his father in 2016. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell My Personal Information | Ad Choices  The Crown Property Bureau (CPB), which has been managing royal assets since it was established in 1938, announced that the assets — estimated to be worth about $30 billion — will now be under the direct supervision of the king, and put in the same category as the monarch ’s personal assets. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Brunei was born on the 15th of July in the year 1946 and is currently aged 71 years. 1. Its board of directors, handpicked by the king, doesn’t release financial statements. Its property holdings in the Thai capital are estimated to be worth $33 billion, according to a 2011 biography on Vajiralongkorn’s father, “King Bhumibol, A Life’s Work”. King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his wife, Queen Suthida, wave from the balcony of Bangkok’s Grand Palace during his May 2019 coronation. Anti-vaccine and alt-right groups team up to stoke fears of COVID-19 vaccine. Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn joined the ranks of the world’s richest monarchs, after the royal family formally turned over its multi-billion dollar fortune to him. Luckily for the prince, he had access to one of the largest royal fortunes in the world, a secretive holding company laden with stakes in blue-chip Thai companies and prime land in the heart of Bangkok. A notorious child rapist was released from prison. As of 2020, his net worth is estimated to be around US$30 billion, ... "Pictures of the Thai King's Consort Broke the Internet – But What's a Consort?". Now it’s being forced to choose sides. King Vajiralongkorn is a different figure. Fears of a run on deposits prompted a director of Thailand’s central bank to reassure investors that there was sufficient liquidity in the country’s financial institutions. $1 Billion. “One of the top things that people think about is how can the monarchy accumulate such really high wealth and we don’t really know anything about it.”, ‘We are fighting for real democracy’: Why protesters are taking on Thailand’s king. But there’s much less information about it.”. Critics say the opaque system allows the king to treat land deals as political favors, at odds with demonstrators’ goal of a modern constitutional monarchy. Rare photos of Thai king’s consort released Thailand country profile The announcement that Sineenat had been stripped of her titles was published in the Royal Gazette on Monday. © 2020 Fortune Media IP Limited. Tan Sri Datuk Sir Hiew-king Tiong was born in 1935 in Sibu, then Kingdom of Sarawak, a part of Borneo island and now Malaysia, of Chinese ancestry. Tens of thousands rallied in Bangkok on Thursday evening, ignoring a government ban on protests and chanting for the release of about 40 activists arrested in the last week. Even from that distance he has taken a more assertive role in Thai politics, brought two military units under his command and changed the law to allow himself to reign from abroad. The protests have been inflamed by reports of the king’s vast wealth, estimated by London’s Financial Times at between $30bn and $40bn, after sovereign funds were effectively put … 115 Less than a minute. With an estimated net worth of $43 billion, Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn, officially known as King Rama X, is the richest royal in the world. With an estimated net worth of $43 billion, Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn, officially known as King Rama X, is the richest royal in the world. Even Yingluck’s trademark rice scheme, which saw the government buy rice from local farmers at prices 50% higher than the market value, did nothing to combat inequality and even exacerbated the problem. Kate Ng. ASIN B0015GUOPY. Tens of thousands of Thais risk breaking law to criticise him online. The plots include some of the most sought-after neighborhoods in the capital, along the Chao Phraya River and in the commercial districts of Silom and Sukhumvit. The wealth of King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, including the newly transferred assets, is estimated at more than $30 billion. Thai king to control billions in 'richest royal fortune' By Lindsay Murdoch. Some states, including California, say vaccine allotments cut for next week. The king removed the finance minister and the bureau’s long-standing director-general from the board and installed his private secretary, a 69-year-old with no finance or economics background, as chairman and several other loyalists as members. Bhumibol Adulyadej, the King of Thailand, is the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history, with an estimated wealth of $30 billion in 2014, according to Business Spectator and Forbes.King … “But I also hope King Rama X is a new era for Thailand. People in Thailand are not allowed to criticize his rule, as the monarchy is protected by one of the strictest lèse-majesté laws in the world. ‘Will they let us live?’ Inside Xinjiang, survivors of China’s internment camps speak. Questions over spending by an aloof monarch, whose expensive lifestyle stands in contrast to stories of his thrifty father, have emerged as Thailand’s economy reels from the COVID-19 pandemic, which followed years of tepid growth under a military-led government closely tied to the ruling family. Now, it has spread far and wide across one of the worst-hit states. Hordes of YouTube vigilantes awaited. He has reigned for 64 years, the longest reigning monarch in Thailand’s history and the longest serving current head of state in the world. “The assumption must be that the monarch is now the principal decision-maker,” said Tom Felix Joehnk, a Bangkok-based writer and economist. The bureau’s biggest corporate investments — in Siam Commercial Bank and Siam Cement Group, an industrial conglomerate in which it holds a 34% stake — were together worth about $8 billion at the end of last year, according to the companies’ annual reports. 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