Richest monarch

·         On August 22, 2008 Forbes magazine put Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, with a personal fortune worth $35 billion knocking Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of oil-rich Brunei, as richest monarch in world

·         The 80-year-old Thai King's estimated net worth increased sevenfold during the past year because of the transparency of his riches, which include over 3,000 acres of prime real estate land in Bangkok, a stake in a major bank and huge holdings in the Siam Cement company.

·         King Adulyadej is also the world's longest-reigning monarch

Mission IAS’2009

Richest monarch

·         On August 22, 2008 Forbes magazine put Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, with a personal fortune worth $35 billion knocking Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of oil-rich Brunei, as richest monarch in world

·         The 80-year-old Thai King's estimated net worth increased sevenfold during the past year because of the transparency of his riches, which include over 3,000 acres of prime real estate land in Bangkok, a stake in a major bank and huge holdings in the Siam Cement company.

·         King Adulyadej is also the world's longest-reigning monarch

·         Currently 44 nations in the world have monarchs as heads of state, 16 of which are Commonwealth realms that recognize Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom as head of state.

·         In Malaysia, the federal king, called the Yang di-Pertuan Agong ("Paramount Ruler") is elected for a five-year term from and by the hereditary rulers (mostly sultans) of nine of the federation's constitutive states, all on the Malay peninsula.

·         Andorra is the world's sole co-principality. Located in the Pyrenees between Spain and France, it has two co-princes: the Bishop of Urgell (a prince-bishop) in Spain and the President of France. It is the only situation in which an independent country's monarch is democratically elected by the citizens of another country.