Royal wealth: how much money does Charles III have and how did he earn it

Charles III manages approximately $42 billion in assets and inherited $500 million from Queen Elizabeth II, including her castles, jewels and stables - none of which is taxed, reports Forbes.

Photo: IStock

Even members of the "Firm" - as high-ranking monarchs since the time of King George VI have been called - often depend on their elderly relatives when it comes to allowances, gifts and other alms from blue-blooded people. Although being a king is still very cool.

After more than 70 years of preparation for the throne, King Charles III inherited from his mother Queen Elizabeth II vast tracts of land, royal estates, rare jewelry, paintings and other personal items - some for very, very many years. He also now, by proxy of the kingdom, manages the late ruler's $42 billion portfolio of assets, which includes billions of dollars of investments. In addition, the new monarch has luxurious palaces, shining decorations and priceless masterpieces of art that will never actually belong to him.

Her Majesty's will will be declassified in at least 90 years, so exactly how she decided to divide the property will only be known after a few generations. However, Charles, her eldest son, inherited the queen's private estates: her beloved Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where she died, as well as Sandringham Palace in the east of England, where the Royal stables with thoroughbred thoroughbreds are located. King Charles III is also likely to inherit his mother's gigantic private jewelry collection, as well as collections of art, rare stamps and various personal investments. In total, Forbes values ​​all these personal assets at $500 million. And thanks to a 1993 agreement with the British government that exempts the transfer of property from one ruler to another, Charles will not have to pay a penny to receive an inheritance.

On the subject: A cowboy from California, a coffin with strange objects and Meghan Markle's new trick: how was the funeral of Elizabeth II

The 73-year-old monarch will ascend the throne with a royal fortune. To a large extent, these funds were received from real estate profits from the Duchy of Cornwall, which this year brought the owner about $ 27 million and will now become the property of Prince William, his eldest son. In the title of Prince of Wales, Charles opened several businesses to protect the environment and promote the development of organic agriculture. Through his philanthropic foundation, which William will also inherit, Charles owned the UK's largest organic food brand, as well as a nature spa and craft center in Transylvania, both of which operate as a bed and breakfast.

Prince William will now become the owner of Cornwall, a $1,2bn real estate complex, including a cricket ground called The Oval in London, Charles' former residence in Highgrove (where he first started organic farming in 1985) and lands in the Isles of Scilly. However, the new king will not be left without luxury real estate.

As new monarch, Charles is taking ownership of $42 billion worth of assets, which include royal palaces and crown jewels. This property, which includes Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Tower of London, is not assigned to the king himself, but is owned by the current monarch “by right of the Crown” throughout his reign. Everything is held "by proxy" for successors and the nation, so nothing can be sold.

How much does all this cost?

Crown property

The most valuable is the property of the Crown (Crown Estate) - an impressive portfolio of real estate with assets consisting of land and assets, worth $ 17,5 billion. This property includes Regent Street, London's main shopping street, as well as Ascot Racecourse (the favorite place of the deceased Queen) and virtually the entire seabed of the United Kingdom. All profits from the property of the crown go to the Royal Treasury of Great Britain, in fiscal 2022 it can reach $ 361 million. However, part of the proceeds is also due to the royal family: they receive allowance from the Treasury, which is called the sovereign grant and is equal to 25% of net profit for the financial year for two years previously. In 2022, the sovereign grant amounted to $99,6 million.

However, huge revenues do not go straight into Charles's pocket. 10% of this income - $39,8 million for 2022 - is set aside for the upkeep of Buckingham Palace, with another 15% earmarked for annual royal family travel, official events, cleaning and staff salaries. And there are multiple bills to pay.

The most expensive trip the royals have ever taken, for example, was William and Kate's nine-day trip to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas in March, costing an estimated $260 including pre-arrangements.

The Sovereign Grant is not the only source of income for Charles. In addition, it does not cover security costs. As King, Charles also controls the Duchy of Lancaster, a $753 million estate held by the monarch "by proxy". The net income of the duchy goes directly to the king (in 2022, this amount before taxes is $ 24 million).

In 1993, the Queen agreed to voluntarily pay income tax on the portion of her income that did not go to official expenses. By the way, before ascending the throne, Charles III also agreed to adhere to this rule.

Wealth of the Monarchy

It is also worth considering the distribution of assets worth more than $42 billion within the "Firm": Crown property - $17,5 billion; the royal collection - $ 12,7 billion; royal palaces — $9,5 billion; the Duchy of Cornwall - $1,2 billion; Duchy of Lancaster - $0,75 billion; Scottish crown property - $0,57 billion

In addition to Crown and Duchy of Lancaster properties, Charles owns Crown Estate Scotland, a portfolio of approximately $570 million, including the Scottish seabed (where wind, wave and tidal projects are carried out, as well as some activities on the continental shelf), country estates, salmon fishing rights, mining of natural gold and silver in Scotland.
The rest of the crown property - at least nine former and current royal residences and the royal collection, which includes the coronation regalia (a set of coronation items and jewelry) - is the most difficult to evaluate, because they did not enter the open market and are not annually reported .

Of all the assets associated with the British royal family, the crown jewels are perhaps the least amenable to analysis. They are part of the royal collection and are "held by the monarch by proxy of the nation". The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors believes that in 2019 their value was $4 billion, for comparison, in their calculations, they were based on the sale of French crown jewels in 1887 and the late Princess Margaret's jewelry in 2006.

The total value of the royal collection, which includes paintings by artists Rembrandt, Vermeer, Caravaggio and Leonardo da Vinci, is undoubtedly much higher. The royal collection, including the crown jewels, is worth $2017 billion, according to a 12,7 report by Brand Finance, a British brand appraisal firm.

In addition, there are at least nine palaces, castles and residences in the power of attorney of the king as ruler or "in the right of the Crown". Lenka Dushková Munter, historic property specialist at Czech real estate agency Luxent, and Colby Short, co-founder and CEO of real estate search site GetAgent.co.uk, estimate the approximate value of these properties to be $9,5 billion.

The most valuable exhibit of the collection is Buckingham Palace, the official residence of the king, estimated at $ 4,9 billion. Cheaper than others is Clarence House, the formal residence of Charles in London when he was Prince of Wales. It is worth about $72 million. Balmoral and Sandringham Palace, after the inheritance from Queen Elizabeth personally owned by the king, are worth $118 million and $73 million, respectively.

As befits a king

Charles III's royal residences and private palaces are worth almost $10 billion. Most of these assets cannot be sold. But, having chosen the royal name Charles, the new king must remember what happened to the possessions of King Charles I, when he was beheaded in 1649 by his own subjects.

After the death of Charles I during the English Civil War, his property was quickly sold at auction. So, Richmond Palace in London, they say, was sold for $ 1,8 million today, then it was demolished. In addition, the Parliament auctioned off the art collection of Charles I, which in those years was considered one of the largest in the world. The £35 ($000 million adjusted for inflation) value of the paintings alone is a fraction of the $5 million paid in 450 for one and only of those works, Leonardo da Vinci's The Savior of the World. Then the canvas became the most expensive in the history of painting.

Apparently, the reign of Charles III will be calmer than that of the namesake monarch. Since Elizabeth's death, there has been much more evidence of support for the new king. On September 20, the London newspaper The Times published the results of a survey conducted by YouGov marketing agency. So, it turned out that since May, when only 32% of respondents called a worthy successor to Elizabeth Charles, his approval rating had risen to 63%.

“Of course, the Queen was very well liked in the UK and the rest of the world,” explains David High, Head of Brand Finance. She performed her duties extremely well. And now everyone is judging whether Prince Charles can follow her example.”

King's personal property

As the new King, Charles inherits the Queen's personal assets - Forbes estimates their value at about $ 500 million. These include Balmoral and Sandringham Palace, the royal collection of postage stamps (which contains "the most exquisite and complete collection of British and Commonwealth stamps"), personal investments, horses, jewelry and works of art inherited by Her Majesty from her mother in 2002. Claude Monet's "Study of the Rocks" is said to be the jewel of the collection, worth an estimated $17,3 million. In April 2021, the Duke of Edinburgh likely left his own art collection to the Queen – the late royal columnist and journalist David McClure valued the collection at $2,3 million. pay taxes.

There is also a large collection of cars, watches and other expensive "toys". On September 11, on his first full day in office, King Charles appeared outside Buckingham Palace. He greeted the crowds with Parmigiani Fleurier's 18-carat gold Toric chronograph watch on his wrist. The Swiss manufacturer told Forbes that the new king has had the watch since the mid-2000s. Parmigiani Fleurier no longer makes chronographs in this series, but in 2019 Christie's sold a similar watch for $8125.

For the first appearance in the status of a monarch, the king chose a Rolls Royce Phantom VI, which previously belonged to his mother - the car was presented to Elizabeth on the 25th anniversary of his reign in 1977. Although the car was not listed for sale, a similar 1976 model is available for $225. Charles also inherits a Bentley State Limousine, originally designed to celebrate the Queen's 000th anniversary in 50.

For 64 years in the title of Prince of Wales, Charles has learned to generate breathtaking income himself. They mainly consisted of the profits of the Duchy of Cornwall, which grew under him to $ 1,2 billion in net terms. From 2011 to 2022, Cornwall's net assets have appreciated by 51%.

The proceeds from this property provided Charles with enough funds to no longer depend on a sovereign grant. For example, in the fiscal year ending March 31, he received approximately $26,6 million (before tax) from the Duchy of Cornwall, while the Sovereign Grant brought in only $1,2 million.

The valuable asset has now passed into the hands of Prince William, who inherits the title of Prince of Wales from his father. The second son of Charles, Prince Harry, earns in a different way - together with his wife Meghan Markle, he is actively developing business projects. In December 2020, the couple signed a three-year deal with Spotify podcasts ranging from $15 million to $18 million. The couple also have their own mental health show on Apple TV+, with Harry co-producing with Oprah. Winfrey (the amount of the agreement was not disclosed), and signed in September 2020 a contract worth $ 100 million for five years with Netflix.

After all, leaving the royal family is not a very smart move from a financial standpoint. When the uncle of the future Queen Elizabeth, King Edward VIII, abdicated in 1936 to marry the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson, he was deprived of his sovereign grant. But he agreed with his brother-king George VI to receive 25 pounds annually ($000 million adjusted for inflation). After his death in 1,4, he left a fortune of about $1972 million ($2,5 million in today's money).

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants, and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York.

Charles' personal property before he became king is much more mysterious. He even got into a scandal for making investments on behalf of the Duchy of Cornwall. In 2017, an investigation called the Paradise Papers by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists revealed that the Duchy of Cornwall had invested millions of pounds in offshore funds and companies, including a Bermuda-registered business led by Hugh van Cutsem, an old friend of Charles's from Cambridge University since the late 1960s. Then the press service of the duchy stated that Charles had no "direct relation to investment decisions."

Charles now has $500 million in personal wealth, with another $42 billion held by proxy in his role as ruler. Despite an apparently luxurious lifestyle with numerous castles, car parks, private jets and a large collection of tiaras and other jewelry, Carl still has one thing in common with the average Briton: he is also mortal and (sometimes) pays taxes.

Read also on ForumDaily:

How to Buy Cheap Flights for Thanksgiving and Christmas Travel

The court placed the blame for the murder of Galina Hutchins solely on Alec Baldwin

Keanu Reeves was jokingly invited to a wedding in Britain, and he took it and came: this is not the first such trick of the star

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.