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Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Some may think that the richest king in the world is King Salman of Saudi Arabia or the King of Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. However this is not entirely true.
Quotation South China morning post, Thai king Maha Vajiralongkorn is the richest in the world. It has a wealth of up to $ 43 billion or around Rs 632 trillion.
This position defeated Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who has a wealth of 28 billion dollars. King Salman also lost because his fortune was only 18 billion dollars.
So where did the wealth come from?
The king, also known as Rama, initially ascended to the throne in 2016. This happened after the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
It is known to be full of sensations. When he was newly appointed, he married and took many concubines. When the corona (Covid-19) broke out, it was also said that it was isolating itself in luxury resorts in Europe.
He also transferred all the ownership of a large company known as the Crown Property Bureau (CPB) to his private property. It is a secret holding company loaded with stakes in top-tier Thai companies and a major land in the heart of Bangkok.
Fun wrote Reuters, giving him control of more wealth than the wealth of the Saudi king, the Sultan of Brunei and the combined British royal family of Assets, is valued conservatively at $ 70 billion.
Reform demands
This is now the focus of the pro-democracy movement in Thailand. They demand greater transparency in the monarchy’s finances and limits on its broad powers.
In August, students at Thammasat University demanded that the king return the assets to the control of the CPB and place them under government supervision. This turned into a shocking act of defiance.
The article on the status of the monarchy having the law of lese majesty, the law of the Kingdom of Thailand protected by Section 112 of the state Penal Code, says that anyone who defames, insults or threatens the king, queen, heir or regent will be imprisoned for three to 15 years.
Some protesters have also called for a boycott of Siam Commercial Bank, in which the king has a nearly 24% stake. Concerns about the escape of deposit funds led the Thai central bank director to assure investors that there was sufficient liquidity in the country’s financial institutions.
 Photo: Demo Thailand (AP / Sakchai Lalit)Human rights lawyer Arnon Nampha speaks to supporters during a protest near the Democracy Monument in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday October 14, 2020. Thai political activists hope to keep the momentum of their campaign for democratic change going with their third big rally in the capital. Bangkok on Wednesday. (AP Photo / Sakchai Lalit) |
“When the protesters speak of the monarchy as an institution, the CPB is the point,” said Pongkwan Sawasdipakdi, a Thammasat professor and PhD candidate in international relations at USC.
“One of the main things that people think is how the monarchy can make such a huge fortune and we really don’t know anything about it.”
