Thai king tops monarch rich list

Updated August 22, 2008 10:43:20

The Thai king's accountants have allowed greater access to information on his fortune, pushing him to the top of the Forbes royal rich list. [Reuters]

Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej is the world's richest royal sovereign, with an estimated fortune of $US35 billion.

The 80-year-old monarch is the world's longest-serving head of state.

'Forbes' magazine says King Bhumibol pushed to the top of the richest royals list by virtue a greater transparency surrounding his fortune.

Forbes says the Crown Property Bureau, which manages most of his family's wealth, "granted unprecedented access this year, revealing vast landholdings, including 3,493 acres in Bangkok."

Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, of Abu Dhabi, is far back at number two.

He's worth an estimated $23b on the back of Abu Dhabi's huge petroleum reserves.

'Forbes' calls it a good year for monarchies, investment-wise.

"As a group, the world's 15 richest royals have increased their total wealth to $131b, up from $95b last year," the Forbes website said.

With oil prices soaring, the monarchs of the petro-kingdoms of the Middle East and Asia dominate the list.

In third was the sovereign of the world's biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia.

King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, 84, who inherited the Al-Saud family throne in 2005, came in with a fortune of $21b.

The previous king of kings, wealth-wise, 62 year old Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of tiny, oil-endowed Brunei on the Southeast Asia island of Borneo, fell to fourth place with $20b.