Neither Trump nor Putin: this is the world’s richest ruler with 17,000 homes, 38 private jets, 300 cars and 52 luxury boats

It’s hard to imagine anyone more extravagant than Thailand’s King Rama X. His personal assets include 17,000 properties, a fleet of 38 private jets, over 300 luxury cars – and, for ceremonial purposes, 52 golden boats.

Officially known as Rama X, Maha Vajiralongkorn became king in 2016 after the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Alongside the crown came a $43 billion inheritance, instantly making him the richest monarch in the world.

A business-savvy nepo baby

Still, not everything he owns comes purely from family legacy. While his inheritance was colossal, Rama X has shown a sharp instinct for investment, putting his fortune to work in key sectors of the Thai economy.

The 17,000 properties he owns in Bangkok bring in significant rental income, becoming a constant source of cash flow. He’s also spearheaded luxury real estate projects in strategic parts of the capital, multiplying his wealth even further.

The monarch also holds shares in some of Thailand’s most powerful corporations, especially in the telecommunications and energy industries – building a fortune that’s part inherited, part shrewdly expanded.

So who is Rama X, really?

Since birth, Maha Vajiralongkorn was groomed for the throne. He studied at military academies in Australia and the UK, and trained as a pilot for both jets and helicopters. In his younger years, he took part in counter-insurgency missions with the Royal Thai Army.

The only son of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit, he has long shown a form of dedication to his country – though not without generating controversy. By his early twenties, in the 1970s, he was already active in military operations inside Thailand.

Rama X stands as a symbol of his country’s contradictions – a monarch shaped by tradition, yet surrounded by the most extreme displays of wealth. In many ways, he embodies the push and pull of a Thailand caught between reverence and spectacle.

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