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Report: Saudi royal family 16 times richer than UK monarch

August 20, 2018 at 12:19 pm

King of Saudi Arabia Salman Bin Abdulaziz [SPA]

The House of Saud is believed to be 16 times richer than the British royal family with a fortune of nearly $1.4 trillion, a new report by CNBC has revealed.

According to the report, the Saudi royal family is known for spending vast amounts on private jets, helicopters, artwork, luxury yachts and palaces.

CNBC explained that the Saudi family’s wealth stemmed from the huge oil reserves discovered more than 75 years ago, during the rule of the late King Abdulaziz Al Saud.

“The country’s state-owned natural gas and petroleum company Saudi Aramco is valued by some at more than $2 trillion. If that estimation is correct, it would be one of the world’s most profitable oil companies,” the site added.

Read: Prominent Sheikh tortured to death in Saudi jail

During a recent purge, which the government said was an effort to tackle corruption, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman forced large numbers of the Kingdom’s most wealthy businessmen to hand over their assets and money to the state, as a result Forbes has removed ten Saudis from its annual list of the world’s billionaires.

Bin Salman’s extravagant purchases, which also include a half a billion dollar 440-foot yacht bought from a Russian vodka titan on an impulse, have raised questions about his motives for the anti-corruption drive.