There’s wealth and then there’s wealth . Until 1980, the richest man in the world was the Sultan of Brunei, a small country located on the north coast of Borneo in Southeast Asia.
Hassanal Bolkiah is both the 29th Yang di-Pertuan (Sultan) of Brunei, as well as being the county’s Prime Minister since they achieved independence from British rule in 1984.
Other than Queen Elizabeth II, he is the longest-reigning monarch and the country celebrated his golden Jubilee (50 years) in 2017.
However, he is best known for his outrageous wealth. Forbes was the last to report his net worth at a staggering Rs 1.4 lakh crore in 2008, which was equivalent to $20 billion.
It can be hard to put such a figure into perspective but, let’s just say, the man is rich enough to spend $20,000 on a single haircut, according to The Times UK.
But, if that’s not enough to impress (or horrify) you, here are a few more of his dazzling purchases.
It has been reported by The Daily Mail that Sultan treated himself to a Boeing 747 aircraft priced at a casual $400 million.
To add a personal touch, he splashed an extra $120 million of cash jazzing up the double-decker private plane, including adding a gold wash basin. Literally bathing in money.
Rumours also have it that Bolkiah gifted his daughter an Airbus A340 for one of her birthdays.
Bolkiah also takes a shine to luxury cars with 7,000 in his collection. As well as 300 Ferraris, which he is reported to have raced around Brunei’s capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, in his younger years, he owns a whopping 600 Rolls Royce.
The Sultan is undoubtedly the luxury car brand’s favourite customer. In the 1990s, the Bolkiah family actually accounted for almost half of all the Rolls Royce sold in that decade.
To avoid being too conventional, Bolkiah also bought a custom designed Rolls Royce featuring an open roof that accommodates an umbrella on top of the car. Naturally, the car was decked in gold plating from the grill to the tires.
He doesn’t just travel in style, dripping in money, but has a palace that spans over two million square feet, holding the record for the world’s largest palace in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Istana Nurul Iman Palace was commissioned in 1984 to mark the achievement of the country’s independence from British rule. The palace’s domed roof is studded with 22-carat gold; there are more than 1700 rooms, 257 bathrooms and five swimming pools.
As well as 110 garages, presumably large enough to store his car collection, there are air-conditioned stables for 200 horses. Because, that’s right, the Sultan is an animal lover.
So much so, he also has a private zoo to top things off, Insider reports. From falcons and flamingos to 30 Bengal tigers, the zoo helps to keep Bolkiah’s guests entertained. There are also reports of highly-skilled cockatoos that are trained to play basketball, ride bicycles, sing, talk, and imitate other animals.
