Brunei's Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, who ascended the throne in 1967 at the age of just 21, is set to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Bolkiah family has ruled Brunei's population of 4.5 million for 600 years, and Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah is the 29th heir to the royal family. He is also the Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defense of Brunei.
Sultan Haji Hasanal Bolkiah's wealth is huge. In 2009, Forbes estimated his wealth at Rs. 1.36 lakh crore (approximately $20 billion). According to recent reports, his assets are now worth Rs. 2.88 lakh crore (about $35 billion), resulting from Brunei's vast oil and natural gas reserves.
Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah's grandest property is his palace, called 'Istana Nurul Iman Palace'. The palace is spread over 20 lakh square feet and was completed in 1984. Recorded in the Guinness Book of Records, this palace is the largest residential palace in the world. The cost of this palace is Rs. 2,250 crores and includes 1,700 rooms, 257 bathrooms, five swimming pools and 110 garages. It has golden domes and walls to enhance the grandeur of the palace.
Another big hobby of the Sultan is his huge car collection, which includes around 7,000 vehicles. Which includes cars like 600 Rolls Royce, 300 Ferrari, 134 Koenigsegg, 11 McLaren F1 and 6 Porsche 962. 110 garages have been constructed in the palace to keep these vehicles. Apart from this, air-conditioned stables have also been built for the Sultan's 200 horses.
Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah also has an impressive collection of private jets, including Boeing 747-400, Boeing 767-200 and Airbus A340-200. Gold work has also been done inside these jets. Jet has gold wash basins, gold walls and gold starry carpets. The total cost of these jets is around Rs. 3,359 crores (around $40 million) and is equipped with all kinds of facilities.
Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah has been married thrice. He married Pengiran Anak Haja Saleh in 1965, two years before he ascended the throne. He then married Maryam Abdul Aziz in 1981 and Azrinz Mazhar in 2005. However, he divorced Maryam in 2003 and Azrinaz in 2010.
Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah's wealth and grandeur reflected his status as a prominent royal on the world stage. His upcoming meeting with Prime Minister Modi will be a momentous event given his immense financial and political importance.
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