Who is Hassanal Bolkiah? Many just shrug and say “he’s a rich king,” and that would be the end of the conversion. But how was he able to amass his billions? Here’s why the Sultan of Brunei net worth is synonymous with the word “wealth.”
The country of Brunei. If you’re unfamiliar with Asian countries, you’d probably need a magnifying glass before you spot the country on the world map.
But as they say, big things come in small packages. Believe it or not, the top four of the richest rulers in the world come from the continent of Asia.
Hassanal Bolkiah is currently the ruling figure of Brunei. The country’s revenue mostly comes from oil and gas. But he didn’t become a billionaire just from the industry. He is one of the richest people in the world, largely thanks to the absolute power he holds as the Sultan of Brunei.
Sultan of Brunei Net Worth
Hassanal was the heir of the previous ruler, Omar Ali Saifuddien III. It’s uncertain if His Majesty can be called a businessman or self-made like Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett or Zuckerberg. But after Brunei struck a fortune with oil and gas, the monarch became one of the richest men in the world.
Business Insider’s top 10 wealthiest royals note Hassanal Bolkiah in second place with $20 billion.
Forbes Magazine and other platforms dedicated to ranking the wealthiest and most influential people in the world can’t always be accurate. One grand example is the mysterious Joseph Safra. Despite being the world’s richest banker and one of the most successful business tycoons, Safra has eluded the Forbes list of billionaires for decades.
The House of Bolkiah
According to the family’s genealogy, the first from the house of Bolkiah to rule the country, was Sharif Ali. His predecessor, Sultan Ahmad, left no male heir after his death in 1425. Sharif Ali was a noble elected by Brunei’s common people and royal chancellors.
The ruler who first took the name Bolkiah reigned from 1485 to 1524. Nakhoda Ragam became the 5th Sultan of Brunei after Sultan Suleiman, his father, was removed from the throne. Under his rule, the Sultanate gained authority and influence over the Malay archipelago and was known as the Golden Age of Brunei.
Brunei is not a democratic country. There are only six remaining absolute monarchies in the world and the house of Bolkiah is one of them. Their bloodline has occupied the throne for six hundred years and will continue to do so as both head of state and head of the government.
From Poverty to Power
You can describe the royals of Brunei as somewhat the opposite of William AV Cecil’s family, who went from “riches to rags.” In the early 20th century, the Sultanate of Brunei was so poor that its king practically dressed in rags held together by a thread.
The Bolkiah, back then, was the furthest from being called wealthy. The greatest legacy for the next ruler to inherit was the eternal problems with money. They were restless in their bamboo hut palace, with Malaysia threatening to invade and end the Sultanate.
The British empire had to step in and decide what to do with the poverty-stricken country. One option was to transfer the rule to Malaysia and merge with Sarawak, Borneo.
But the argument of a British Envoy, Malcolm McArthur, saved Brunei from permanently becoming a colony.
McArthur’s argument centered on the absolute injustice of ending the line of an ancient monarchy, similar to England, and should be preserved at all costs. The British Empire accepted his argument, and he was declared hero and savior by the people of Brunei.
Discovery of Oil in 1929
The kingdom was preserved, but it remained under Britain’s “indirect” rule. Malcolm McArthur and other appointed British Residents devised a new system to govern the country that included taxation, while the sultan’s duties were limited to religious affairs.
In 1929, Shell Corp discovered oil. With the management of the English, all of Brunei’s debts were paid off by 1936. Progress soon followed, and Brunei finally caught up with the modern world.
A country once the poorest in Asia suddenly became one of the biggest fuel exporters. But by no means did the sultan, or any of his people, make their fortunes from the discovery of oil. At most, the monarch received around $6,000 as a stipend, while the rest of the country was still in poverty.
A Shift in Power
When Omar Ali Saifuddin III took the crown in 1950, he sought to take control of the country, especially the money coming from oil. He slowly pushed the British to a corner but did not force them out because he knew that other powers would immediately invade Brunei.
The Sultan loved his people and had absolute trust over his countrymen until the 1961 uprising. Omar truly believed that the kingdom’s safety was secured so long as the British were left to manage Brunei, but the people argued that it was time to restore the country’s autonomy.
In 1961, the first ever election was held, and the people’s party won 54% of the votes. But the Sultan and the residents deliberately hindered the steps toward democracy and sparked a revolution.
With the help of the British, the chaos was quickly resolved. Forty anti-government fighters were killed, and 2,000 other rebels were captured. They were all sentenced to no less than 20 years in prison unless they swore absolute loyalty to their ruler, Omar Ali Saifuddin III.
The rebellion was over, but the king’s paranoia had become part of history. Omar declared the country in a “State of Emergency” in 1962. That declaration was never lifted to this day.
Hassanal Bolkiah – Sultan of Brunei
For some time, the British had been trying to convince Omar to allow elections so the country could finally become independent. But Brunei is a very small country and Omar was terrified of letting the English go. At the same time, he wanted total control over the country’s finances.
Omar threatened to abdicate if the English persisted, but Britain took his bluff and told the Sultan to go. So in 1968, a very unwilling Hassanal Bolkiah was crowned at 22.
The country was worried, watching the bored young prince, wearing his trademark sunglasses, during royal ceremonies to cover the dark rings under his eyes from hangovers.
Hassanal was out of place. The second rumor why he was crowned so early was because the prince was due to failing his military education.
He was only king by name, while his father ruled in the shadows until the early 1980s. Hassanal’s turning point was in 1981 when he fell in love with a commoner and married her as his second wife. The union angered Omar, but the prince, who was initially uninterested in the throne,e became determined to seize control of the kingdom.
In 1984, Hassanal Bolkiah ended the stay and indirect rule of the British government over Brunei. He took the position of Prime Minister that year and then Minister of Defense in 1986.
The Monarch’s Wealth and Power
In 1974, the price per barrel of oil rose to $11 from $1. At the time, gas and oil were discovered in the country, and Brunei accumulated its wealth at an astonishing pace.
While the rest of the world suffered the recession and the 1980s market crash, Brunei took the top spot as the highest earring country in Asia. Education was free, and taxes were removed. Even businessmen who succeeded in their entrepreneurial ventures didn’t need to worry about wealth tax, just as tax cuts were never an issue.
Hassanal was generous to his people, just as he was overly generous to himself.
The King of Bling
After the monarchy took control of the country’s finances, the kingdom’s profits and expenses. The only two people who knew were the siblings, Hassanal and his brother, Prince Jefri, who was elected Minister of Finance.
It is also important to note that talking about the kingdom’s wealth, especially with the Sultan in mind, was constitutionally banned.
The line between the Sultan’s wealth and the money that belonged to the country became nonexistent. According to Forbes, it came to the point that Hassanal Bolkiah was regarded as the richest man in the world in 1988, And his expenditures amounting to a few billion dollars became his trademark.
His 5 billion dollar car collection comprises 7,000 vehicles, including 600 Rolls Royce and numerous models covered in gold plating. Not even the world’s wealthiest man or anyone on the Forbes billionaires list could compare such extravagance in one place.
Just to compare, the world’s richest man, Elon Musk’s favorite ad most valuable car is a Porche 911 that costs no less than $99,000. His collection comprises 13 vehicles, and almost half were made by Tesla.
The Sultan’s Boeing 747 takes third place o the list of the most expensive private jets in the world. The said plane was purchased for $100 million. An additional $133 million was spent customizing the aircraft to fit Hassaal’s taste. Its total cost amounted to $233 million.
Famous entrepreneurs like the Safras or the industrialist Vanderbilts, despite their obsession with grand structures, could never compare to Brunei’s $1.5 billion palace.
Istana Nurul Iman
A house fit for an emperor, the Istana Nurul Iman was declared by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest residential palace and the largest single-family residence ever built. For starters, it has 1,788 rooms and 257 bathrooms, and air-conditioned stables.
And yes, the palace is home to all 7,000 of Hassanal’s cars. That fact alone is otherworldly, even for the imaginative prowess of the richest person in the world.
Philanthropy
The Sultan’s philanthropic aspirations are not often in the spotlight,t but the monarch made pledges to help other countries in their time of need. One example was the multiple donations given to the Palestinian Humanitarian Fund to help the victims affected by Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip.
Like Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Brunei founded the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation to officially mediate the Sultan’s role as a philanthropist and charitable aspirations.
Established in October 1992, the foundation focuses on Religion, Welfare, Education, Development, and Finance. It also included a personal promise from the Sultan himself to provide occasional gifts, distributed every fasting month of Ramadhan to all residents of Brunei Darussalam.
The Wealth of Brunei
In 2020, it was reported that Brunei’s Foreign Direct Investment doubled to $526.21 million from $275 million in 2019. An article by Investasian.com says the country isn’t exactly friendly to foreign investors. The IMF and World Bank also predict the stagnant growth of Brunei’s future.
Since the discovery of oil and gas, Brunei has never diversified from the industry to find other sources of income. Free education aside and the 5% mandatory contribution from the working class, zero implementation of tax adds to the strain o the country’s thinning coffers.
Of the 438,000 residents of the country, only 64.3% are working. Their salaries range from $577 to $2,300 but do note that living in Brunei costs much more than in the rest of South East Asia. Generally, it’s 50 to 100% more expensive than living in India.
Varying economies strengthened by the countries of the world mostly started from natural resources. Dubai also profited from oil and gas, but they ventured out and became one of the greatest financial hubs on the planet. Imagine a small country crawling with rich individuals.
In the UAE, the ratio for rich people is one millionaire in every 25 households. Dubai has no less than 52,000 millionaires, whereas the average adult has at least $10,000 tucked away in their bank account.
But here’s the worrying part, if 90% of the country’s income comes from oil and gas, what happens when these natural resources dry out?
The Asia Pacific Research Center said that natural oil reserves run out after 25 years. For natural gas, it’s 40 years. Unless the country trades or attempts to invest in something else, the kingdom will suffer devastating effects once its reserves have been depleted.
Sultan of Brunei Net Worth – Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the Sultan of Brunei Net Worth?
For the current year, the Sultan of Brunei net worth is $20 billion. Millennials regard Hassanal Bolkiah as the “King of Bling,” having spent billions on his extravagant lifestyle.
Who Was the Richest Sultan of Brunei?
Brunei’s current ruler, Hassanal Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saifuddien III, 29th Sultan and monarchial head of state. He was crowned in 1968. Hassanal’s wealth was not inherited. It originated from the gas ad oil revenues that were first discovered in the country in 1929.
How Did Brunei Get So Rich?
The country became wealthy after the discovery of gas and oil. Before that, the kingdom’s biggest inheritance was the debts they amassed from other countries. The position of the royal heirs was also threatened with invasion by a bigger and stronger race.
But out of all the countries in the world, Brunei found oil and gas deposits within their small territory. The prices also soared per barrel to $11 from $1 in 1967. At the time, Hassanal Bolkiah had already been crowned the new sultan of the country.
Sultan of Brunei Net Worth – Final Thoughts
Hassanal Bolkiah is famously known for being one of the wealthiest men in the world, easily comparable to any US billionaire or business magnate. Brunei became the highest-paid country in terms of profitable revenue from the country’s oil and gas reserves.
As one of six ancient absolute monarchies left in the world, many are worried for the future of Brunei. Is the Sultan’s totalitarian system sustainable? Or are we assuming the worst because the majority of the world lives under democracy, and the notion of totalitarian rule is alien to us?
But perhaps change is not too late. Lately, the Sultan has been conservative with money. Perhaps he finally saw that their sole reliance on a natural resource could end in a great disaster.
Another thought for your penny would be the Rothschilds. They are a family similar to the Vanderbilts and the Rockefeller. They were amongst the wealthiest Americans but almost powerless against the greedy.
The family was on the brink of extinction, but they didn’t only survive. The Rothschilds remain among the richest people in America to this day by diversifying their investments and keeping a low profile. Today, the family has a private fortune of $500 billion.
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