Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn: 5 things to know about his wealth, his 4 marriages, and his 546.67-carat diamond
Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn is estimated to be worth up to US$43 billion. We look at his shares and properties, his women, his jewellery and his education
King Vajiralongkorn is considered the richest royal in the world, beating out Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, who came in second with a total wealth valued at US$28 billion, and King Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia, who came in third with an estimated net worth of US$18 billion.
Here are 5 things you need to know about King Vajiralongkorn, the richest royal in the world:
Vajiralongkorn was educated in Thailand, the United Kingdom and Australia
As a child, King Vajiralongkorn attended a palace school in Bangkok, but by the age of 13 he was sent to two private schools in the United Kingdom for five years, and then went to a school in Sydney, Australia, for a year. He spent the next four years being trained at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in Canberra.
Vajiralongkorn then continued his military training in Thailand and became an officer in the Thai armed forces. According to a BBC profile, he is a qualified civilian and fighter pilot, often flying his own Boeing 737 when travelling overseas.
Most of Vajiralongkorn’s wealth is held in the Crown Property Bureau
The title holds 16,210 acres of land in Thailand, with 40,000 rental contracts nationwide, including 17,000 in the country’s capital, Bangkok.
In Bangkok, the Crown Property Bureau owns around 3,281 acres of land, with parts of it being located in prime real estate areas, such as the heart of the business district. According to a 2011 biography on Vajiralongkorn’s father, King Bhumibol, A Life’s Work, its property holdings in the Thai capital are estimated to be worth US$33 billion.