5 richest queens of all time – net worths, ranked: from China’s Empress Wu and Russia’s Catherine the Great, to Egypt’s Cleopatra ... but Britain’s Queen Elizabeth doesn’t make the cut

Nov 22 , 2022

Hatshepsut, Catherine the Great, Empress Wu, Isabella of Spain and Cleopatra were the five richest queens in history ... so how much would they have had in the bank today? Photos: Handout; Mary Evans Picture Library; @queen_isabella_of_spain/Instagram; @Egypteinsolite, @lifeofcleopatra/Twitter

Cleopatra is revered for being one of the most influential rulers in history, and had alliances with powerful Roman leaders Julius Caesar and Mark Antony

Meanwhile, China’s Empress Wu’s estimated fortune is calculated to be higher than even the net worths of today’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei

The wealthiest female monarch in the world right now is also the only reigning queen left after Queen Elizabeth died in September.

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark is a lone wolf in the competition, as her other current female contenders were all queen consorts who married into royalty.

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe waves as she arrives at the city hall in Copenhagen, Denmark, on November 12, before celebrations of the queen’s 50th ruler jubilee. Photo: EPA-EFE

But the chain-smoking Danish blue-blood, who recently stripped her grandkids of their royal titles, stands strong on the throne with a net worth of US$40 million, according to the Guinness World Records. Although this fortune is not bad for us “common folk”, it’s a far cry from Queen Elizabeth’s US$600 million net worth before her death. The figure is even more of a shock when compared with the world’s richest royals, Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who has a US$43 billion stack, and Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who sits on US$28 billion, per TBS News.

But if we go back in time, some of history’s greatest queens ruled above and beyond today’s richest royal bank accounts when factoring in the power, land, salt and gold they accumulated during their reigns. It’s important to note, however, that the further we go back in history, the harder it is to agree on such figures since wealth was measured differently back then. Much of what’s estimated today is often debated among historians.

The late Queen Elizabeth wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara. Photo: Garrard

So, from the imperial Chinese dynasty to ancient Egypt, here are five of the richest queens in history (factoring in inflation), according to Money.com estimations. And no, even Queen Elizabeth doesn’t make the cut.

5. Hatshepsut (1507BC-1458BC) – estimated net worth today: at least US$2 billion

Statues of Hatshepsut, Egypt’s longest-ruling indigenous female pharaoh. Photo: Handout