Thai king world's wealthiest royal

NEW YORK - With a fortune estimated at $35 billion US, Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej is the world's richest royal sovereign, and oil-rich Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi is far back at No. 2, Forbes magazine says.

King Bhumibol, 81 tomorrow and, at 62 years on the throne the world's longest-serving head of state, pushed to the top of the richest royals list by virtue of a greater transparency surrounding his fortune, Forbes said.

It said that the Crown Property Bureau, which manages most of his family's wealth, "granted unprecedented access this year, revealing vast landholdings, including 1,414 hectares in Bangkok."

Forbes called it a good year for monarchies, investment-wise. "As a group, the world's 15 richest royals have increased their total wealth to $131 billion, up from $95 billion last year," Forbes said on its website.

With oil prices soaring several months ago, the monarchs of the petro-kingdoms of the Middle East and Asia dominate the list.

Sheik Khalifa, 60, the current president of the United Arab Emirates, was estimated to be worth $23 billion, on the back of Abu Dhabi's huge petroleum reserves.

In third was the sovereign of the world's biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, 84, who inherited the Al-Saud family throne in 2005, came in with a fortune of $21 billion.

The previous king of kings, wealth-wise, 62-year-old Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of tiny, oil-endowed Brunei on the Southeast Asia island of Borneo, fell to fourth place with $20 billion.

"The sultan, who inherited the riches of an

unbroken 600-year-old Muslim dynasty, has had to cut back on his country's oil production because of depleting reserves," Forbes explained of his dwindling fortune.

Fifth was Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, 58, of another emirate, Dubai, with a net worth of $18 billion.

One of two Europeans on the list, Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein, 63, ranked six on the list with $5 billion in wealth. However, the bank that is a key source of his family's wealth, LGT, is under investigation by the U.S. for helping wealthy people evade taxes.

Qatar's Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, 56, came in at seventh, worth $2 billion; eighth was King Mohammed VI of Morocco, 46, his $1.5 billion fortune based on phosphate mining, agriculture and other investments.

Number nine was Prince Albert II of Monaco, 50, his diverse fortune in the southern European principality put at $1.4 billion.

Tenth on the list was Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman, 67, worth $1.1 billion.

Rounding out the top 15 were: The Aga Khan Prince Karim Al Hussein, 71 ($1 billion); Britain's Queen Elizabeth, 82, $650 million;

Kuwait's Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 79, $500 million; Queen Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands, 70, $300 million; and King Mswati III of Swaziland, 40, with $200 million.

Forbes noted that because many of the royals inherited their wealth, share it with extended families, and often control it "in trust for their nation or territory," none of those on its list would qualify for the magazine's famous annual world billionaires ranking.

"Because of technical and idiosyncratic oddities in the exact relationship between individual and state wealth, these estimates are perforce a blend of art and science," it added.
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