The world’s richest royal families of 2022 revealed – net worths, ranked: as Queen Elizabeth celebrates her Platinum Jubilee, the UAE mourns Sheikh Khalifa and Qatar’s rulers ready for the Fifa World Cup

Jun 3 , 2022

Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Queen Elizabeth and the British royal family, and Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the UAE royal family. Photos: @tamim, @RoyalFamily, @mohamedbinzayed/Instagram

As she celebrates her jubilee year, Queen Elizabeth might be the world’s most recognisable royal – but how does the British blue-blooded brood’s collective wealth chalk up?

All eyes will be on Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani when the controversial 2022 World Cup kicks off – but the nation’s Middle Eastern neighbours are even richer still

This year is a big one for the British royals, as Queen Elizabeth celebrates 70 years on the throne this summer – and it’s not a huge stretch of the imagination to assume the family’s bean counters are hoping to capitalise with some lucrative commemorative merchandise.

But that’s small fry. Elsewhere in the Middle East, Qatar’s royal family could steal the spotlight later in the year when the county hosts the 2022 Fifa World Cup. So how do Doha’s blue-blooded royals compare to what the leader of their regional rivals at the UAE left behind when he passed away last month?

Read on to see how the richest royal families on the planet rank, according to multiple sources.

5. Britain – US$88 billion

The British royal family gather on the balcony of London’s Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour parade in, June 2018. Photo: FilmMagic

Queen Elizabeth celebrates her Platinum Jubilee this year.

The world’s longest-reigning monarch is the head of only the fifth richest royal family on the planet. While the queen has an estimated personal wealth of US$470 million, the family itself has a combined net worth of US$88 billion, according to Forbes.

The bulk of the queen’s fortune is made up by the Sovereign Grant. As well as having the crown estate, the family’s multiple properties – including Sandringham in Norfolk and Balmoral in Scotland – keep them ranking above the likes of the Thai and Brunei royal families, but not several sheikhs from the Middle East.

4. Abu Dhabi, UAE – US$150 billion

Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the royal family. Photo: @mohamedbinzayed/Instagram

The Abu Dhabi royals – who descend from the same tribe as the royals in neighbouring emirate Dubai, and now rule the seven United Arab Emirates – can trace their regional reign back to 1793. The family’s estimated US$150 billion fortune comes largely from the sale of oil from the 1970s, which allowed the late sheikh to become one of the wealthiest landlords in London. By comparison, Dubai’s leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is worth somewhere around US$18 billion.

Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom offering condolences to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi, on the passing of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Photo: EPA-EFE

Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan – who was also the president of the United Arab Emirates from 2004, following the death of his own father – owned land in the British capital worth US$7.1 billion. The properties brought in more than US$200 million annually in rent, according to The Guardian. The sheikh was apparently actively involved in handling massive sums of money – he also chaired the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, worth some US$696 billion.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan succeeded Sheikh Khalifa after his death in May 2022.