A new report by The List has revealed the “untold truth of the Saudi royal family,” who is known for leading quite the lavish lifestyle while ruling over one of the wealthiest countries in the world.
With no shortage of wealth, it comes as no surprise that the Saudi royal family is known for living lavishly. Still, some of their price purchases have left some stunned. For example, in 2017, the Wall Street Journal revealed that the aforementioned Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (also known by his initials MBS) purchased Leonardo da Vinci's “Salvator Mundi” for $450.3 million.
Similarly, the New York Post reported that MBS owns an ultra-fancy 440-foot yacht that cost him a startling $494 million. The craft allegedly has two pools and a helipad, and was said to be an impulse purchase.
The outlet added that in addition to the luxurious purchases of MBS, the royal family's extravagant lifestyle allegedly includes spending serious cash on gold-studded superyachts, private jets, palaces, and furniture made out of gold. Even down to the small everyday essentials, it's rumored that the Saudi royal family keeps things posh with gold-plated tissue dispensers.
If you thought that the British royal family's net worth of $88 billion was impressive, you'd definitely be stunned by the Saudi royal family's estimated wealth.
According to CNBC, the House of Saud's alleged net worth is said to be around $1.4 trillion (as of 2018), which is almost 16 times the British royal family's estimation.
While the kingdom is currently under the rule of King Salman, MBS is considered the de facto leader since his appointment as heir to the throne in June 2017.
Then, of course, there are the issues with Saudi Arabia's strict laws, which many critics state still haven't improved despite Saudi royals having removed some of their restrictions. To date, the kingdom still faces plenty of backlash for its cruel forms of punishment. Additionally, it isn't just Saudi laws that have faced dispute; some of the Saudi royal family have been accused of assaulting their staff, while others are alleged to have imprisoned their own relatives.
With plenty of controversy surrounding the Saudi royal family as well as their leadership, many people are curious to find out the truth about the House of Saud.
Concerning the family's vast number of royals, the Independent wrote in 2012 that Princess Basma Bint Saud Bin Abdul Aziz (granddaughter of the founding king) claimed that in addition to having 15,000 members of the royal family, only about 2,000 of them actually enjoyed royal privileges. “You have 2,000 who are multi-millionaires, who have all the power, all the wealth and no-one can even utter a word against it because they are afraid to lose what they have,” the princess claimed.
If you thought that the British royal family's net worth of $88 billion was impressive, you'd definitely be stunned by the Saudi royal family's estimated wealth. According to CNBC, the House of Saud's alleged net worth is said to be around $1.4 trillion (as of 2018), which is almost 16 times the British royal family's estimation.
However, the outlet did point out that it is difficult to pinpoint exact figures for the Saudi royals, as they are notably private when it comes to disclosing the extent of their finances. Still, it is known that the initial royal fortune came from oil reserves accumulated during King Abdulaziz's reign.
