[Military Martial Arts Plane] Author: Yangshu
The royal family is a British style, but his value is comparable to several British queens...
"Financial freedom" is a very popular word nowadays. Simply put, it is "wealthy and willful". If you have more money, you can spend whatever you want. What a pleasant feeling!
This is really a fairy life that everyone wants to live, but there are only a few lucky people in the world who can take it for granted without having to struggle hard - if you are lucky enough to be born in the royal family of more than 20 monarchical countries that still exist on the earth.
In countries that still follow the monarchy today, the monarchs do not have the power to kill and decisively as they did in the ancient world, but it is the same that they all have a lot of wealth. No matter how bad they are, they are much better than the civilians. After all, even if it is just a decoration, the monarch is also the facade of the country, so we naturally have to provide for it well.
How rich can the kings be? According to data provided by Forbes, the ten monarchs with the largest personal net assets are:
No. 10, Oman Sultan Qaboos Ben Said Al Said, the 14th generation monarch of the Abu Said dynasty. Since he ascended the throne in 1970, he is also one of the few real power monarchs in the world today. His wealth is about 700 million US dollars.
ninth place, Prince of Monaco Albert II , ascended the throne in 2005, and holds 28 titles including Valentine Duke , Duke Esteutville, Duke Masalin..., etc., and his wealth is about 1 billion US dollars.
8th place, Qatar Emirates Emir , Tamim bin Hmmed Al Thani, succeeded to the throne in 2013, with his wealth of $2 billion.
No. 7, King Mohammed VI of Morocco ascended the throne in 1999, the 22nd monarch of the Alavi Dynasty, and his wealth was US$2.5 billion.
No. 6, Duke Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein, a small European country, has a wealth of US$3.5 billion.
Fifth place, Queen Elizabeth II of England ascended the throne in 1953, and is still alive, with a very long standby, with a wealth of US$15 billion.
4th place, King of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdul Aziz Alsaud, has been ascending the throne in 2015, with US$17 billion.
third place, Brunei Sultan and Prime Minister, Hassanal Borkiya, ascended the throne in 1967, with a wealth of US$20 billion.
second place, Emir of the United Arab Emir, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, ascended the throne in 2004, with a wealth of US$23 billion.
So who is the first place?
First place, Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn, his wealth is about 30 billion US dollars.
Thailand, a country that can only remind people of shemale at first glance. It has a small sense of presence and influence in the world. It ranks 89th in the world in terms of per capita income, which is at the medium level, but it has produced the richest man in the world's royal family. In 2016, Thailand's GDP was US$412.3 billion, and the wealth of the king alone accounts for 7% of Thailand's GDP, which is surprising.
Friends who care about current affairs know that this king has just ascended the throne for more than half a month, and this 30 billion US dollars is actually the legacy of the old king Rama IX Bhumibol. Bhumibol reigned for 70 years, and was the "runner-up" of the reign of the monarch of an independent country with a definite record and reliable world, second only to the 72nd year of the French "Sun King" Louis XIV. What is the concept of
70? It has only been 72 years since the end of World War II. In other words, several generations of Thais born after World War II have been used to the king's "head of the family" since childhood. During these 70 years, the Prime Minister alone has changed 30 terms, and the king has always been him, as he is a symbol of the unity of the whole nation, and is like a god-like existence. From the Prime Minister to the common people, no one dares to disrespect the king.
▲ Not only is he talented, but he is also a handsome guy
The old king is widely respected. One of the reasons is that he is versatile and has great accomplishments in music, painting, photography, literature, sports, and even mechanical design. He can compose music, is good at clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, guitar and piano; he is proficient in seven foreign languages, especially in French, German and English; he has won the sailing competition championship at the Southeast Peninsula Games; he designed a small boat and drove across the Gulf of Thailand by himself, and also obtained a patent for artificial rainfall technology... Anyone, if there are so many, I am afraid that others will only worship him. In addition, they are still kings, what else can they do besides admiring them?
▲Bhumibol's coronation tribute
Another reason is that King Bhumibol is respected and has made contributions to the country. On June 9, 1946, shortly after World War II ended, Bhumibol's brother Rama VIII was accidentally shot in the head. The official statement was that the pistol caught fire, and the real reason is still a mystery. It was in this case that Bhumibol ascended the throne and became Rama IX. After ascending the throne, Bhumibol first kept a low profile, and then seized the opportunity to defeat Prime Minister Luan Piwen Songkan in one fell swoop. The dictatorial prime minister who led Thailand astray during World War II, joined the Axis powers, and was in a slew with Japan had to flee overseas and eventually died in Japan.
(About the history of Thailand participating in the Axis powers during World War II, participating in the Korean War after World War II, and being beaten by China, please read the previous articles of the military and military "It was the Asian version of "Italy" during World War II, and angering the Chinese army with the Elephant Legion.")
▲Photo of the Bhumibol family in 1966
The first on the left is the current king
After that, Bhumibol made full use of the king's status and advantages and became a regulator or even arbiter between the army and the civilian government. Although there were 20 coups during his reign, none of them caused bloodshed and civil strife. They were basically over peacefully. The lives of the middle and lower classes were basically not affected by the coup. The king's mediation and statements made an indelible contribution. In addition, Bhumibol also emphasized that "the country and the people will be governed with justice." At the beginning of his ascension, he focused all his energy on rural construction and improving people's lives, attached importance to agricultural production, cared about the suffering of farmers, and often visited remote and poor mountainous areas to help poor areas carry out land reform and water conservancy construction. Although the real power is limited, it is also deeply loved by the people.
What does this have to do with his wealth? It has no direct relationship, but from another perspective, such a capable person will not be a pauper even if he does not become a king. In addition, the people in East and Southeast Asia generally look up to talented people. Even if they are rich, they will think it is normal and will not be jealous. Moreover, this knowledgeable king is so kind and so friendly to the people, and no one will have the idea of "a king, prince, general, and minister" and "who can replace it."
▲The badge of the Royal Asset Management Bureau
Of course, there may be another realistic reason for not being jealous, that is, such a huge wealth cannot be used by the king. The property of the King of Thailand is actually managed by a department called the "Crown Property Bureau". Since the "Democratic Revolution" in 1932, the king has become a false king in law, with limited power and the royal family's property must be controlled. The Royal Asset Management Bureau was established in 1936 under the Royal Asset Management Act and became an independent agency in 1948, directly responsible to the king.
Under the bill, there is a board of directors above the Royal Assets Authority, composed of the Minister of Finance and at least four royal appointed directors, and the King has the right to appoint a member of the board as chairman, usually all served by the Minister of Finance. This bill divides royal property into "the king's personal property", "royal property" and "public property". The king shall not replenish royal property and public property into personal property without the approval of the parliament. The management object of the Royal Assets Administration is the king's personal property.
▲The King of Thailand has the largest cutting diamond in the world, "Golden Majesty",
545.85 carats, worth more than 12 million US dollars
The reason for this arrangement is of course to limit the royal power. The king cannot allocate wealth at will, so he loses the possibility of using wealth to expand his power, regaining his power, and becoming a monarch in the classical sense. On the other hand, the royal family is the face of the country and the expenses are not small. If you spend money on the slack, it will be over sooner or later, so you have to find ways to make the royal family's assets "make money" and be self-sufficient. Considering that the royal family members, including the king, are also many versatile but may not know how to operate, so professional institutions must act on behalf of this work. The Royal Asset Management Bureau was established in this context. The Royal Asset Management Bureau has many privileges, and the Minister of Finance is the chairman of the bureau, but the final decisions are made by Bhumibol himself. Bhumibol is also the only person who can read the annual report of the Royal Assets Administration.
So what are the property of the King of Thailand? It is actually not easy to answer this question. Although royal property can be discussed publicly in Thailand, the Thai royal family will not take the initiative to show off, so ordinary people do not know what property the royal family has. According to some economists estimate that the largest component of royal assets is real estate, some of which are also located in the bustling area of Bangkok . The 3,320 acres of land in the center of Bangkok and the 13,200 acres of land in rural areas in other areas belong to the king, with considerable returns. In addition, King also owns the property rights of many companies, such as holding 30% of the shares of Thailand Cement Group, holding 21% of the shares of Thailand Commercial Bank, and owning more than half of the shares of an overseas insurance company; holding 80% of the shares of Kempinski Hotel Group; holding shares of Divis Insurance and Sennayue Group (data unknown). It is also estimated that the Thai royal family also holds at least 7.4% of the outstanding shares in the Thai stock market. Finally, there is another point that many industries operated by the Royal Asset Management Bureau enjoy preferential policies for tax exemption.
According to materials released by the Thai Royal Asset Management Bureau, the Thai King's assets in 1987 were only about US$16 million, and ten years later, Forbes's estimated value reached US$2 billion, which shows that it is really good at operating, and this value has been maintained until 2007. The famous independent financial observer Michael Backman estimated the Thai king's net worth in 1999 to be $9 billion. In 2007, Bloomberg estimated that it was about $5 billion. For ordinary people, this is already an astronomical figure, but compared with other wealthy royal families at that time, it was only a fraction.
Since 2008, the situation has begun to change. Affected by the global financial crisis, the bursting of the real estate bubble and the decline in oil prices, the assets of the royal family in the Middle East were severely shrunk, but the investment of the Thai royal family was more concentrated in traditional industries, avoiding many traps, but it was not much affected. As one person grew, the Thai king's property (at least on the book) quickly surpassed other royal families, and became the richest man in the world's royal family for many years.
However, the Thai government denies this. The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on May 22, 2008, pointing out that the Thai Royal Asset Management Bureau is a government agency and is responsible for the management of assets under the name of the Thai king. Although it belongs to the king in name, the real interest belongs to the king, so these properties cannot be counted as the king's net asset value. Therefore, the statement that the Thai King Bhumibol Adulyud is the richest man in the world's royal family is "erroneous and contradictory."
Ordinary people in Thailand are also deeply dissatisfied with Forbes' list of the King of Thailand as the richest man in the royal family - saying that the King of Thailand is so rich, it seems that the King of Thailand "brutally exploited" the people. Isn't this corrupting the reputation of our king? Some Thais even left messages on the Forbes website to protest, demanding that Forbes "stop publishing social garbage" and "do a thorough investigation first" when reporting news from other countries.
Although the Thai kings could not control their property as freely as the ancient emperors, the royal wealth accounted for a large proportion of Thailand's GDP and played an important role in the national economy.When Bhumibol was seriously ill, the Thai baht fell for several days as soon as the news came out. Many large Thai companies have to find ways to connect with the royal family. With the banner of the royal family, it will be less trouble and can also play a monopoly role, which can effectively prevent competition from later generations, and the royal family will also benefit from it. On the contrary, European monarchs were restricted too harshly and had almost no real power. Even the British royal family had news that they had "overnight dinner", so it was difficult to affect their own economy and it was difficult to accumulate wealth. This is also the reason why the Thai king could surpass the monarch of Europe as a monarch of a small country.
However, the above rankings and wealth values are actually estimated by the media and institutions, and are not necessarily accurate. In addition to Forbes' data, there are many versions, because the royal assets are confidential and will basically not be announced to the public. The royal family usually does not argue with the media's estimates. After all, in modern society, the weaker the "presence" of the royal family in terms of wealth, the better. Anyway, it is impossible to return to the era of monopolizing power in the past. Don't make a big splash, just make a fortune in silence.
In fact, it is indeed not a good thing that the royal family or royal family has too much power to dispose of wealth. In Chinese history, there are countless such lessons, and the same is true in foreign countries - Portugal and Spain in the Age of Discovery were originally one step ahead and plundered huge amounts of wealth from the colonies, but most of them were gathered in the royal family for a few nobles to squander. Not many could truly become the original accumulation of capitalism. As a result, they were overtaken by latecomers such as Britain and France, which had more reasonable internal systems. To this day, they are only second-rate countries - money and wealth, which ultimately have to be mobilized to be useful. Simplified hoarding is like a tumor, which is harmful and unhelpful.
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