The world’s richest royals, ranked – Netflix’s The Crown made us wonder, but Queen Elizabeth didn’t even make the cut, while Thailand’s Maha Vajiralongkorn tops the list in 2021

Feb 2 , 2021

King Vajiralongkorn, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and King Mohammed VI. Photo: @TildaAng, @nurlhaqchaniago, @AviKaner/Twitter, @kb_zayed, @le_roi_mohammed_6/Instagram

Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn came out at No 1 above the long-time richest royal, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, with Morocco’s King Mohammed VI rounding out the top 5 richest monarchs in the world

Thanks to the smash global success of hit Netflix show The Crown , lots of us have had reason to think about the secretive and lavish lives of blue-blooded members of society around the world – even Britain’s Queen Elizabeth has apparently watched the show. Which brings the inevitable question: which royals are the wealthiest on Earth?

As it turns out, Thailand’s King Vajiralongkorn secures the No 1 spot this year, with the Brunei sultan Hassanal Bolkiah coming in second. That’s right – both are far richer than Queen Elizabeth, despite not being nearly as iconic in global pop culture.

Below is our list of the world’s five richest monarchs today. We break down their net worth as of January 2021, where they derive their wealth from – and of course, how they like to spend it all.

Maha Vajiralongkorn, King of Thailand

King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida. Photo: @thairoyalfamily/Instagram

King Vajiralongkorn, or Rama X, ascended to the throne shortly after the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in 2016, as the tenth monarch of the Chakri dynasty. His assets are currently valued at up to US$43 billion as of January 2021.

According to Fortune, much of King Vajiralongkorn’s wealth comes from his 23 per cent stake in Siam Commercial Bank, one of the country’s biggest lenders, and Siam Cement Group, the country’s largest industrial conglomerate). His portfolio also includes around 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres) of prime land and over 40,000 rental leases with developers.

As for how he spends his money, word has it that the king loves his flying toys – something he presumably shares with his royal consort Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi, who is a qualified pilot. To date, the royal family has reportedly amassed a fleet of 38 jet planes and helicopters.