The Wealthy Elite That Owns the Entire World in 2019
The world is quite a large place.
It includes 123 billion acres, and of these, 37 billion are land.
If it were to be divided equally among the world's population, it would mean each person
would get more than four acres.
Unfortunately, as we all know, this is not quite how the world works.
Instead, while many have a small plot of their own, others own the territory of entire nations.
Let's find out who owns the biggest chunks of Earth in this episode of The Infographics
Show, Who Owns The Most Land in the World?
Number 10 is Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah of Kuwait whose land covers 4.4 million
of the 7 million acres in Kuwait.
The American government owns some of the area that isn't his and has used it to build
a large base.
The State of Kuwait is bordered by Iraq and Saudi Arabia and its coast line meets the
Persian Gulf.
Its inland territory is dry, harsh desert but at its shore sits the Kuwait Bay.
Kuwait is the fifth largest producer of oil and is therefore quite a wealthy country.
98% of its income comes from oil and the industry is a source of employment for 96% of its working
population.
It is so well-off that citizens pay no taxes while receiving free healthcare and education.
Sheikh Al-Sabah, who pledged 500 million in aid for the Syrian population, has gotten
recognition for his generosity and humanitarian endeavors.
Number 9 is King Letsie III of Lesotho who owns 11,718 square miles of country along
with its diamond mines.
His position is mostly symbolic, but though he has no political power, he still maintains
ownership of this land.
The Kingdom of Lesotho is known for its high mountain peaks as well as its valleys and
is surrounded by the country of South Africa.
It is a poor region that relies upon its neighbor for power and for employment of its people.
While tourism and the diamond trade have brought in profit, they appear to fall short of the
needs of the Lesotho population.
This is despite the fact that it grows at a slower than average rate.
Number 8 is King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk of Bhutan who owns about 15,000 square miles
of land.
He ascended the throne in 2006 at age 18 after his father, who began his reign at the even
younger age of 16, stepped down.
Bhutan is a small area wedged between its much-larger India and China neighbors.
It remains a natural and idyllic location due to strict limitations on tourism.
In fact, it requires all who enter the country to pay $250 per day.
That is not the only thing that sets this region apart.
Laws mandate that at least 60% of its land must remain covered in forest.
In fact, it set the Guinness World Record in 2015 by planting the most trees ever in
the span of an hour.
Some claim that King Namgyel's nation is one of the world's most poor.
However, it doesn't measure its wealth as other nations do.
Bhutan believes the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) puts too much emphasis on materialistic
forms of wealth.
It focuses on a Gross National Happiness measurement that calculates the level of its residents'
well being instead.
Interestingly, when its measurements of subjective happiness among its population went up from
2010 to 2015, so did household income.
Its national income per capita peaked by 2015 as well.
Number 7 is King Abdullah II of Jordan who controls the Hashemite Kingdom which spans
around 34,492 square miles.
In contrast to other countries, Jordan is relatively small and lacks oil as a resource.
It is a mostly mountainous, desert-based region but has a rich history as the site of many
ancient kingdoms and civilizations.
Its ruler, King Abdullah, served in the British Army before joining the Jordanian Armed Forces.
He wasn't expecting to be named as his father's successor and, like few other rulers, has
remained humble despite his circumstances.
He lives in an apartment rather than any of the eight available palaces and has been known
to mingle with his people while in disguise.
He has recently earned the distinction of being the world's best paid political figure,
making $58 million in annual profits.
Number 6 is Sultan Qaboos of Oman who controls all of Oman, a country off the coast of the
Arabian Peninsula where the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf meet.
The coastal areas of this land are fertile and rich and support many kinds of crops.
However, more inland, much of the area is covered by dry sand and receives little rainfall.
Sultan Oman gained this kingdom and rose to power after overthrowing his own father, who
despite the area's wealth, failed to bring the country prosperity.
In his stead, Qaboos has improved the country's infrastructure, modernized its government,
and joined forces with the Arab League and United Nations.
Sultan Oman's net worth is due to the value of gas and oil from his lands and have earned
him around $700 million.
Number 5 is King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand who owns all of Thailand, or around 128 million
acres.
This land is in the heart of Southeast Asia and is very different depending on the area.
To the north are hills and forests, in its center are rice fields and plains, and rough
coasts line the country to the south along its peninsula.
King Vajiralongkorn's father had been the longest living ruler before his death with
a reign of over 70 years; that title is now held by Queen Elizabeth II.
Upon his father's passing in 2016, the $30 billion legacy he left behind officially became
his son's.
The Crown Property Bureau controls these and all other assets, but acts upon King Vajiralongkorn's
direction.
Some of its holdings in addition to his newly acquired funds include Bangkok real estate,
the Siam Commercial Bank, and lucrative businesses collectively known as the Siam Cement Group.
Number 4 is King Mohammed VI of Morocco who has 175.6 million acres of land.
His kingdom is a part of North Africa, situated across from Spain on the other side of the
Strait of Gibraltar.
It is covered by more streams than anywhere else in the north due to water collection
in both the RIF and Atlas Mountains.
Most Moroccan soil is rich as well and provides 33,000 square miles of land for agriculture.
In addition to the wealth of his land, King Mohammed VI also owns 35% of the Societe Nationale
d'Investissement (SNI) company that he inherited from his father before him.
SNI has shares in banks, Attijariwafa, mining companies, sugar producers, and dairy firms
and boasts a believed value of over $10 billion.
The profits these investments have given him earned him first place on Forbes list of the
five richest African kings.
Number 3 is Pope Francis who owns 187 million acres.
This includes 177 million in embassies around the globe and 110 acres of what comprise Vatican
City.
However, while he has assumed a position that provides him with power, he often forsakes
the luxuries that have traditionally come with it.
For example, he made headlines for staying in a two-room apartment instead of the Vatican's
Apostolic Palace.
The Vatican's worth is estimated to be between $10 and $15 billion.
However, Pope Francis' personal wealth, a lot of which has he has earned through his
ties to the Vatican, is around $25 to $28 million.
These figures are estimates, however; a lot of property has never been appraised and information
on the Pope's finances is not widely known.
Number 2 is King Salman of Saudi Arabia, who succeeded his half-brother Abdullah in 2015,
and owns 547 million acres.
This is a majority of the Arabian Peninsula and mostly desert.
Though impressive to most, these millions add up to just 12% of Queen Elizabeth II's
property.
However, he has no reason to complain.
While many estimate the British royal family's wealth is $88 billion, that is nothing next
to the royal family of Saudi Arabia whose worth is closer to $1.4 trillion.
Their fortune comes from the rich oil reserves discovered in their land back when Salam's
father, Abdulaziz ibn Saud, was king.
The sale of natural gas and petroleum are conducted through Al Saud Incorporated, the
family business.
This company is reported to be worth an excess of $2 trillion, making it one of the most
successful of its kind world-wide.
Its' profits are divided among many thousands of family members, with the most shared between
a select 2,000 of them.
King Salman himself is worth $17 billion.
He has spent some of these funds on dozens of apartments and a chateau in France, a palace
in Spain, and to create sprawling country retreats, coastal vacation properties, and
yet more palaces in his homeland.
Number 1 is Queen Elizabeth II who owns as many as 6.6 billion acres.
This covers not only areas in Great Britain, but also Ireland, Canada, Australia, the Falkland
Islands, and more.
Combined, it amounts to a little over one eighteenth of all the world's land.
This, in turn, provides her great wealth.
The U.K.'s longest ruling monarch has a net worth of $425 million, which include the
Sandringham House property with a value of $65 million and the Balmoral Castle valued
at $140 million.
In addition to this, she also generates an income of $54.4 million each year in profits
from property in the Crown Estate.
This estate covers large areas in central London, 263,00 acres of farmland, business
and retail property, approximately half of the U.K. shore and nearly all seabed for miles.
But that is not all, there is yet more property known as the Duchy of Lacaster that provide
her a further cool $19 million.
It's interesting that Queen Elizabeth II owns billions of acres of land and the second
largest landowner has only millions.
Yet, the English royal family is worth many millions while the Saudi Arabian family is
worth over a trillion.
Then you have the King of Lesotho who has thousands of square miles and diamond mines
but the region still struggles to support its people.
Guess size doesn't really matter in the end.
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