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Meet Maha Vajiralongkorn – Thai King And The Richest Royal On The Planet

You might have long thought that there is not a single royal in the world as affluent as Saudi Arabian princes. However, the richest royal in the world is someone from the Far East. The king of Thailand, Maha Vajiralongkorn, is now the richest royal on the planet. With an estimated net worth of $43 billion, the Thai king is nearly 80 times richer than Queen Elizabeth II herself! Surprising? Actually, it’s not. Hassanal Bolkiah, the Sultan of Brunei, with a net worth of an approximate $28 billion, comes second.

He Became A Prince When He Was 20 Years Old

The list of richest royals includes names such as King Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia (net worth: $18 billion), Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan of the U.A.E’s Abu Dhabi (net worth: $15 billion), Morocco’s King Mohammed VI (net worth: $8.2 billion), and Liechenstein’s Prince Hans-Adam II (net worth: $7.2 billion). Vajiralongkorn was crowned prince in 1972 when he was meager 20 years old, and he ascended the royal throne after the demise of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in 2016. He ruled for nearly seventy years before Vajiralongkorn took the royal responsibility. He assumed his position on December 1, 2016. Aged 64 then, he happened to be the oldest Thai monarch to acquire the throne.

He Is Also A Monk

Belonging to the Chakri dynasty, Vajiralongkorn started his education in 1956 and completed his secondary education in 1970. A month later, he got enrolled in a military training course in Sydney, Australia. He entered the Royal Military College in the capital city of Canberra and completed his law graduation in 1982 from the Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University. He took up his responsibilities during his tenure at the Royal Thai Armed Forces before he made his way to the royal throne. Aside from that, Vajiralongkorn was ordained as a monk in 1978 at the esteemed Wat Phra Sri Rattana Satsadaram when he was just 26 years of age.

He Is An Army Veteran

The Thai king has carried out his duties as a career officer in the army and has also held the position of a staff officer in the Directorate of Army Intelligence. He has also enjoyed his stints with the British, Australian, and the United States armed services as well. After his father became a bit inactive due to old age, Vajiralongkorn started making more public appearances and also made an official opening of the Southeast Asian Games in 2007. With the help of funds donated by the people of Thailand, he established the famous Crown Prince Hospitals in order to offer health care and medical centers to the public, especially to people who hailed from remote areas of the country.

He Is Into Sports

Aside from that, the Thai king is a patron of the Mobile Agricultural Clinic Project which provides immediate services to farmers and offers methods to accentuate the efficiency of farming in the country. He is known for his focus on education. In fact, he has initiated a number of education projects and aims to provide quality learning to children. Over the course of the last 35 years, the Thai king has conferred nearly 2,100,000 degrees to those who have graduated from the Rajabhat University. Additionally, Vajiralongkorn donates almost 42 million baht to Rajabhat students. His interest in sports is well-known all over Thailand and Asia and was popular as the Football Prince. He is well adept in cycling and horse-riding as well.

The King Has An Extended Family

The King has been married four times to date. He was married to his first wife, Soamsawali Kitiyakara, from 1977 to 1981. He walked down the aisle with Yuvadhida Polpraserth and Srirasmi Suwadee in 1994 and 2001 respectively but had to hire a divorce lawyer in both of them. In 2019, Vajiralongkorn tied the knot with a former flight attendant, Suthida Tidjai. He is a father to Princess Sirivannavari, Princess Vajra Kitiyabha, and Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti.

Maha Vajiralongkorn has made quite a huge fortune for himself, and surpassing Queen Elizabeth II had been a sort of cakewalk for him. Vajiralongkorn has been an able monarch since the time he succeeded his father and has been honored with many awards and titles to date. It seems he possesses all the vigor to serve his country till the last day of his life.

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