Let’s start with introductions about Hassanal Bolkiah before we get into the extravagant luxuries of the multi-billion dollar man. The Sultan of Brunei’s extended name is Hassanal Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saifuddien III and he is the 29th and current Yang di-Pertuan (Sultan) of Brunei. He also holds the position of the Prime Minister of the country since they achieved independence from British rule in 1984. While the Sultan is an educated man with a degree from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom, he is mainly known for his outrageous net worth. Bolkiah is also the longest-reigning monarch after Queen Elizabeth II and celebrated the golden jubilee (50 years) of his reign in 2017.
While the Sultan is the most powerful man in the small country of Brunei, he is also the richest. In fact, he was the world’s richest man until 1980. The last drawn date of Hassanal Bolkiah’s net worth was in 2008, per Forbes, and it then stood at a towering Rs 1.4 lakh crore ($20 billion). To give you a perspective on Hassanal Bolkiah’s spending, the Sultan still spends around $20,000 (Rs 15 lakh) on a single haircut, per The Times UK.
Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei’s luxurious lifestyle: 7,000 luxury cars, gold-plated private jet and more
Gold-plated private jet
According to The Daily Mail, the Sultan bought himself a Boeing 747 aircraft, which is priced at around $400 million, close to Rs 3,000 crore. Interestingly, he also added accessories worth another $120 million, which included things like a gold washbasin. There are also reports that Bolkiah gifted his daughter an Airbus A340 for one of her birthdays.
7,000 luxury cars
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah owns 7000 luxury cars, which are said to be worth about Rs 341 billion. Sultan has 600 Rolls Royce and 300 Ferraris in his collection of cars. Interestingly, in the 1990s the Bolkiah family accounted for almost half of all the Rolls Royce sold in that decade. If reports are to be believed, when Hassanal Bolkiah was younger he would race Ferraris late in the night in the capital city of Brunei.
A palace of gold
Istana Nurul Iman Palace, the Sultan’s residence, was commissioned in 1984 to mark the achievement of their independence (from British rule). Spreading over an area of 2 million square feet, it is also the world’s largest palace in the Guinness Book of World Records. The dome of this palace is studded with 22-carat gold. The Istana Nurul Iman Palace of Hassanal Bolkiah is worth more than Rs 2550 crores. The palace has more than 1700 rooms, 257 bathrooms and five swimming pools. Apart from 110 garages, there are air-conditioned stables for 200 horses.
