Wondering just how rich the leaders of the world are? Want to know how much dough the rulers have got stacked up?
It’s no secret that many state leaders in the world are incredibly rich. While some had outrageous wealth before coming to power, others amassed wealth at their nation’s expense. Here is a list of the 7 richest state leaders in the world.
By the end of this article you will know who the richest leader in the world is and just how they got so rich.
1. Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan bin Zayed bin Khalifa bin Shakhbout bin Theyab bin Issa bin Nahyan bin Falah bin Yas (Yes! That’s his full name) is the current President of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi. He is also the supreme commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces and has been in power since 2004. His fortune is estimated to be somewhere between 15 and 23 billion dollars, which makes him one of the world’s wealthiest monarchs. He profits from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. The royal families of Arab countries are so secretive about their wealth that it is probable that their riches are far, far more than what is estimated.
It is reported that Khalifa has spent almost 2 million dollars on buying more than 66 acres of land on the Seychelles’ main island of Mahé where his palace is under construction. He owns various luxury properties in London worth more than 1.7 billion dollars via shell companies. Sheikh Khalifa’s private superyacht is called Azzam and is said to have cost 600 million dollars, one of the world’s top 10 biggest yachts. Khalifa is also said to be a great philanthropist. He has reportedly spent more than 460 million dollars from his personal capital on various humanitarian projects.
2. Andrej Babiš
Andrej Babiš, a Czech politician and businessman who serves as the current Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, has an estimated net worth of 3.5 billion dollars according to Forbes. His fortune comes from Agrofert, which operates more than 210 companies in media, agriculture and renewable energy. In 2018, the Pandora Papers declared that Babiš bought two villas worth 12 million pound sterling (16.3 million dollars) in the south of France using an off-shore investment company.
He has styled himself as a self-made businessman who’s fed up with corruption in politics, but it looks like the truth is entirely different. Andrej is often nicknamed the Czech Donald Trump and we can totally see why.
3. Kim Jong-Un
North Korea’s current Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-Un, often referred to as “Dear Leader” in North Korean media, has a net worth of roughly 5 billion dollars as of 2021. Kim Jong-Un’s assets are said to be in more than 200 foreign bank accounts located throughout the world, most of which are in China. Other countries that host Kim’s wealth include Austria, Luxembourg, Russia and Switzerland. He owns more than 20 palaces and mansions across North Korea, and more than 100 luxury and sports cars, private jets and luxury yachts, one of which is reported to be 100 feet in length. The Dear Leader is a very secretive personality and not much is known about his personal life and wealth but we do know that Kim enjoys caviar and vintage wine a lot.
4. The King of Saudi Arabia
The House of Saud, Saudi Arabia’s ruling royal family, has an estimated net worth of about 1.4 trillion dollars, which is almost 16 times more than the British royal family’s net worth. The current King Salman’s personal worth is estimated to be 23 billion dollars. The Al Saud family draws most of its fortune through vast oil reserves and their control of Saudi politics and business. The family’s extremely lavish lifestyle full of extravagance and pomposity has faced severe criticism over the years. From luxurious superyachts and private jets to palaces with furniture made of gold, there’s no end to the ruling family’s riches. It is even reported that the royal family uses tissues from gold-plated tissue dispensers.
The Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman estimated at 1.5 billion dollars, known for his controversial elevation to crown prince, is also notoriously famous for his extravagant spending. The prince owns “the world’s most expensive home”, Château Louis XIV in France, for which he reportedly paid 300 million dollars.
5. Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand
Bhumibol Adulyadej was the monarch of Thailand from 1946 to 2016. He is considered the world’s longest-serving head of state and the richest royal person in terms of private assets. At the time of his death, his fortune was estimated at 30 billion dollars. The King of Thailand owned 3,300 acres of real estate in central Bangkok and over 13,200 acres of country land and property. He owned several companies including Thailand’s largest industrial conglomerate, Siam Cement, which alone is estimated at 13 billion dollars, and the Shin Corporation, a conglomerate of telecommunication, media, aviation, advertising and finance companies.
6. Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei
Brunei may be a tiny nation on the island of Borneo but the Sultan of Brunei is one of the richest state leaders in the world. His total fortune, estimated by Forbes in 2008 to be over 20 billion US dollars, was recently estimated at 30 billion dollars. His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah is also the second longest-reigning current monarch in the world after Queen Elizabeth II.
The Sultan’s lavish lifestyle and his displays of enormous wealth and power are no secret. He is the owner of a long list of hotels in Los Angeles, Milan, Paris and London. The Sultan’s private car collection, estimated at 5 billion dollars, is considered to be the largest and most valuable private car collection on the entire planet. Bolkiah reportedly owns some 3,000-6,000 cars which include 600 Rolls-Royces (one of which is even gold-plated), 550 Mercedes Benzes, 450 Ferraris, 10 McLaren F1s and the list goes on.
The Sultan of Brunei’s lavish spending does not end here. He owns a Boeing 747 for private use, and the world’s largest private home, a 1,788-room palace with an extensive polo complex, a theme park and a private zoo that has 30 Bengal tigers. The Sultan’s 12 children also continue to make news through their luxurious lives.
7. Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin has been the president of Russia since 2012, and is probably the most powerful and influential man in the world. With an estimated fortune of more than 40 billion dollars, Putin tops our list of the world’s richest state leaders. The Russian politician and the former intelligence officer has been accused on multiple occasions by Russian opposition politicians and journalists to have amassed a multi-billion-dollar fortune during his time in office.
He is said to have ownership of stakes in several Russian companies like the oil company Surgutneftegaz and the natural gas monopoly Gazprom. The Russian president’s wealth has been a topic of speculation for a long time and a number of Russian and Western analysts have reported different estimates. The Swedish economist, Anders Åslund estimates Putin’s wealth at almost 100 to 160 billion dollars.
Vladimir Putin has been in power for more than 23 years and many believe him to be the wealthiest man on the planet. More than 20 villas and palaces and a fleet of luxury yachts have been associated with Putin by his critics, one of which is the infamous, secret, massive Italianate-style mansion dubbed “Putin’s Palace”. The epic mansion near the Black Sea, which reportedly cost 1 billion dollars to build, is said to be on government land and sports 3 helipads and a private road paid for with state funds. It is even guarded by the official Kremlin guard service. Putin has time and again displayed his humongous wealth. He has been seen wearing a number of expensive luxury wristwatches that are collectively valued at 700,000 dollars.
We may never be able to calculate precisely Putin’s actual worth owing to the web of secrecy surrounding his personal life and wealth and so “Putin’s billions” will probably always stay a mystery. Garry Kasparov, the former World Chess champion and political activist went so far as to state that Putin controls more money probably than any other individual in the whole history of the human race.