How the Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah spends his billions: gold Rolls-Royces, a gilded Boeing 747, US$70 million works of art by Renoir and the biggest residential palace in the world
- The Sultan of Brunei has an estimated net worth of US$28 billion and may live the most luxurious life of anyone on earth – he owns 7,000 cars, for starters
- Aside from his Rolls-Royce, 450 Ferraris and 380 Bentleys, he regularly flies his barber in from London’s Dorchester hotel and lives in the world’s largest palace
He was once the world’s richest person and currently has a net worth estimated at around US$28 billion. The Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, is also the country’s prime minister.
The sultan has a degree from the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst (the same one Princes William and Harry attended) and is known for his extravagant spending. From his love of gold (even his sinks are made of the stuff), to flying his barber from the UK to Brunei to make sure his locks are in order, the sultan has never been afraid of dropping enormous amounts of money even basic necessities.
Here are some of the sultan’s past splurges that will blow your mind.
The gold Rolls-Royce
According to GQ India, the sultan has one of the largest collections of rare cars in the world. The collection includes an impressive gold-coated Rolls-Royce, photos of which have gone viral. The custom-made luxury car has an open top and a platform for an umbrella. According to GQ India, the car is coated in gold from the grills to its tyres.
A few hundred Ferraris
Hotcars reported that the sultan owns 600 Rolls-Royces, 450 Ferraris and 380 Bentleys. His collection is worth over US$5 billion, according to the same website, and is comprised of more than 7,000 vehicles in total. Aside from the above-mentioned Rolls-Royces, it also includes numerous rare finds, which makes his stash even more enviable. These include a grey Lamborghini Urraco, a Ferrari 456 GT Venice (one of only seven in the world) and a Porsche 959. In fact, his car collection is so impressive that, according to GQ, the sultan and his family were believed to be behind half of all Rolls-Royces bought globally throughout the 1990s.