There are all sorts of countries in this world. Some countries are rich and their people are rich as well. Some are poor and their people are poor. Weirdly though, some countries are rich but their people are poor. And amazingly, some countries are poor but are led by very rich people. Wealth among people then, is not a function of how big or rich a country is. You already know about the world’s richest countries, richest cities and richest people. Lets now look at whether the richest leaders and head of states belong to the richest countries or not.
Now before moving on, let me tell you one thing. It is not easy to simply judge a person’s wealth according to the asses he has. There are a lot of factors involved, chief among which are value of currency, inflation rate and standard of living, among other things. An estate in one country may not have the same value as an estate of the same size in another country. A car may cost more in one country than the other. Generally, living in developed countries is more expensive compared to living in developing or under-developed countries. This effects how wealthy a person can be.
Another problem is separating the head of state’s person assets from the stat’s assets, in countries that are still under a monarch’s rule. It is often difficult to discern in such cases, what belongs to the monarch himself, and what belongs to the crown. For this reason, we have not included crown assets in the personal assets of the monarchs in our list. This may under-estimate or give only a rough approximation of their actual wealth.
Vladimir Putin
- Country : Russia
- Designation : Prime Minister
- Wealth : $40 Billion
Under Putin’s tenure, Russia saw a significant spell of growth. The economy grew for 9 straight years, and GDP increased by 72%! Not only that, poverty rate decreased by 50% and average income went from $80 to $640! Such staggering numbers clearly hint at the ambition and leadership qualities of this man. And it is the same ambition that has placed him at the top of our list.
Bhumibol Adulyadej
- Country : Thailand
- Designation : King
- Wealth : $30 Billion
The most notable thing about the King of Thailand’s reign is its length. He has been in power since 1946! That makes him the world’s longest reigning current monarch, and also the longest reigning monarch in Thai history. Considering such a long tenure, one can understand that much wealth.
Hassanal Bolkiah
- Country : Brunei (Dar-us-salam)
- Designation : Sultan
- Wealth : $20 Billion
Hassanal Bolkiah is the head of Brunei Dar-us-salam, which is considered as the Utopia of the Muslim World. It is a very small, but very rich country. And rich is its ruler as well, who has been in office since 1967. Hassanal Bolkiah is an extravagant man, who spends lavishly on luxuries. It is rumoured that he owns nearly two thousand cars, including Ferraris, Porsches, Mercedes’ etc. He also owns a Boeing 747 (jumbo jet for personal travel), with gold-plated furnishings. Even the wash basins are made of gold! And that, my friends, is no rumour!
Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
- Country : Saudi Arabia
- Designation : King
- Wealth : $18 Billion
King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz belongs to the rich governing Al Saud family of Saudi Arabia. The Arabs’ have primarily benefited from the vast oil and gas reserves found under the blistering ho deserts. And their rulers seem to have been large beneficiaries. Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz is one of them. He was commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard from 1962 to 2010, and took the crown in 2005 after his half-brother’s death.
Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
- Country : United Arab Emirates
- Designation : President
- Wealth : $15 Billion
Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, is another Arab leader who benefits from the thriving Arab economy due to export of Oil and Gas etc. This man can be credited with transforming the face of U.A.E, from a land of vast deserts to a tourists’ hub with the largest sky-scrapers in the world.
Muhammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum
- Country : United Arab Emirates
- Designation : Prime Minister, Ameer Sheikh of Dubai
- Wealth : $4 Billion
Hans Adam II
- Country : Liechtenstein
- Designation : Prince
- Wealth : $4 Billion
Hans Adam II is descended from a line of Princes of Liechtenstein. He owns the LGT banking group and has a fortune of around $4 Billion, which makes him the wealthiest monarch in Europe.
Hammad Bin Khalifa Al Saani
- Country : Qatar
- Designation : Ameer (Ruler)
- Wealth : $2.5 Billion
Hammad Bin Khalifa was the appointed heir between 1977 and 1995. He was also the Minister of Defence. Not only that, he also led the Supreme Planning Council whose responsibility was to set up basic economic and social policies. Hammad took the throne in 1995 after he overthrew his father is a coup.
Muhammad VI (Muhammad Al Saadis)
- Country : Morocco
- Designation : King
- Wealth : $2.5 Billion
Muhammad was named heir the day he was born, and he acceded to throne in 1999 following his death. His family is one of the richest family in the world, and it is rumoured that his palace’s daily operating budget is approximately $1 million!
Sebastian Pinera
- Country : Chile
- Designation : President
- Wealth : $2.4 Billion
Sebastian Pinera is a rich Chilean businessman and politician. He made a lot of his wealth when he introduced credit cards to Chile in 1970.. He also invested in LAN Airline stocks. In 1994, he acquired shares for the state-owned company Scandinavian Airlines.
(For those of my fellow Pakistanis who are wondering where our ‘beloved’ president stands, well, he is just short of this top 10 list and stands at #12 with a fortune of $1.8 Billion).
See also;
KING FOR THE PEOPLES!
What is the position of the cameroon head of state as the richest head of state in the world 2012?