King Bhumibol Adulyadej- Money and More
Net Worth: $35 billion
Profession: King Of Thailand
Bhumibol Adulyadej was born on 5th December in the year 1927 in Cambridge in Massachusetts. Being the king of Thailand, he is also known by the name Rama IX. He has been the longest in-reign king in the history of the world since 9th June in the year 1946. Bing the king of Thailand he is loved by the Thais and is treated as semi-divine by the people there. He has spent more than 67 years on the throne and has recently celebrated his eighty seventh birthday.
EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION
Born and raised in United States and Switzerland, King Bhumibol is the younger son of Prince Mahidol and Mom Sangwan. The meaning of his name is strength of the land. He came back to Thailand in the year 1928. His father was enrolled in Public Health Program in the Harvard University and hence Bhumibol was born in United States. At the time of his birth the hospital he was born in was declared to be the property of Thalnad so that the prince is said to be born on the soil of Thailand.
King Bhumibol has attended Mater Dei School situated in Bangkok for a short while until the family moved to Switzerland. He was enrolled in “Ecole Nouvelle de la Suisse Romande” located in Lausanne. From Gymnase Classique Cantonal, he did his graduation with a diploma and major in French Literature, Greek and Latin. He then studied science at “University of Lausanne”.
Money and property
Not only he is among the richest men in the world, but king Bhumibol is also the richest monarch alive on earth. He has an estimated net worth of around 35 million US dollar. His wealth has multiplied in the last years as he has invested in many property deals and in stocks of major companies in Bangkok. Major part of his money has been used to develop rural areas and is used to fund thousands of development projects. He owns vast areas of land in central Thailand as well as in Bangkok. If we peak into the royal money machine one can surely see the sources of his wealth. In Bangkok alone, the king has hold of land properties measuring 3,320 acres. The total country and town holding of his land is around 13,200 acres. The corporate jewels of the royal crown gives more clear insight about his richness. He owns a twenty three percent stake in the Siam Commercial Bank. This bank is counted among the largest banks in Thailand and has a market cap of around 13 billion US dollars. Another source of his richness is the 32% stake in the Siam Cement Group. It is an industrial conglomerate that has a net worth in market of 12.6 billion US dollars. Though the property and the money does not belong to any individual but it is the belonging of the crown and is held by Crown Property Bureau(CPB), and since presently he is the crown it all belong to him! Bhumibol himself has some personal investments in Thai Insurance Company and as well as in Sammakorn. Personally he also owns thirty percent shares in Siam Cement as well as twenty percent shares in Siam Commercial Bank. He also owns the world’s biggest faceted diamond, Golden Jubilee Diamond which was offered to him by Henry Ho.
Vehicles
It is obvious for a royalty to own number of vehicles from aircrafts to cars. The CPB owns three aircrafts which are Boeing 737- 800 as well as an Airbus A319. Apart from these two the others are used by the family. He also owns two limousines which are custom built by the LCW Automotive Corp.
Succession and private life
King Ananda Mahidol died on 9th June in the year 1946 due to a wound incurred by the gunshot. Following his elder brother death, Bhumibol returned to Switzerland and continued his degree for law and political science. After completing his degree, he visited to Paris frequently. After his brother’s death, Bhumibol ascended the throne.
He is married to Mom Rajawonge Srikit Kitiyakara whom he met in Paris. The couple has four children. Talking about his health, he suffers from the disease that caused numbness in the leg and severe pain in back and legs called lumbar spinal stenosos.
Hobbies and Interests
Not only is Bhumiol a successful and a noble king but he has many other interests too. He has different interests in different and varied fields like photographer, painter, author, musician and a translator. The books he has written are Phra Mahachanok and The Story of Thong Daeng.
At very young age, King Bhumibol had a keen interest in fire arms and practicing target shooting. He had Sten gun and automatic pistols and during his free time he used to practice shooting along with his elder brother.
He is a learned jazz musician as well as composer. When he was 32 years old, he became the first Asian to receive honorary membership from the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts situated in Vienna. He has also ecieved a Honorary Doctorate in Music by “University of North Texas College of Music” in the year 2003.
