The royal wedding of the future Sultan of Brunei, Prince Abdul Malik, with his chosen one, 22-year-old programmer Dayangku Raabi'atul ‘Adawiyyah Pengiran Haji Bolkiah, overshadowed the luxury of even the wedding of the Crown Prince of the British throne, which, in comparison with this, could be called rather modest. The prince of Brunei and his chosen one were dressed in wedding robes embroidered with real gold, and the bride's bouquet was made of precious stones.
12 PHOTOS
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1. Prince Abdul Malik is the youngest of the four sons of the reigning Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and the second challenger to the throne after his father. The wedding ceremony took place 11 days after the engagement. (Photo: STRINGER / REUTERS / REUTERS). 
2. The bride's shoes from Christian Louboutin are decorated with diamonds and gold. (Photo: OLIVIA HARRIS / REUTERS / REUTERS). 
3. The wedding necklace and tiara of the bride are adorned with diamonds and huge grape-sized emeralds. According to local traditions, the bride must have something borrowed on her. In this case, it was the mother-in-law's jewelry - a diamond tiara, a necklace and a brooch. (Photo: STRINGER / REUTERS / REUTERS). 
4. The solemn wedding ceremony took place in the Sultan's palace in the capital of Brunei, in Bandar Seri Begawan. Istana Nurul Imam Palace - the Sultan's residence - has 1,788 rooms. (Photo: OLIVIA HARRIS / REUTERS / REUTERS). 
5. The Sultan of Brunei, the groom's father and fuel tycoon, is one of the richest men in the world. His fortune is estimated at $ 20-80 billion. Hassanal Bolkiah has ruled his country since 1967. (Photo: OLIVIA HARRIS / REUTERS / REUTERS). 
6. Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, has five sons and seven daughters from three marriages. Prince Abdul Malik is the second in line heir to the Brunei throne. The first son, Crown Prince of Brunei Al-Muhtadi Bill, got married more than 10 years ago. (Photo: OLIVIA HARRIS / REUTERS / REUTERS). 
7. During the wedding ceremony. (Photo: STRINGER / REUTERS / REUTERS).
Brunei, a 400,000-strong long-standing British colony on the northwest coast of Borneo, is an absolute monarchy (sultanate). In Brunei, ruled by a 68-year-old sultan, he is both the head of state, head of government, minister of national defense and minister of finance.
8. Prince Abdul Malik with his father, the Sultan of Brunei. Royals have often been criticized for being overly extravagant. The Telegraph recalled that in 1996, Michael Jackson was supposed to receive 10 million pounds for a concert in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Sultan. However, dissatisfaction with the state system in the country is small, which is a consequence of the high standard of living of its citizens, as well as free education and health care. (Photo: OLIVIA HARRIS / REUTERS / REUTERS). 
9. Brunei is a country whose official religion is Islam. Last year, after the Sultan passed Sharia law, which allows punishment such as stoning and flogging, a wave of resentment and discontent rose in the country. (Photo: OLIVIA HARRIS / REUTERS / REUTERS).
On April 5, the ceremony began and will last 11 days. Gold, precious stones, just incredible luxury ...
Several hundred relatives, friends and diplomats attend this wedding. The 1788-room royal palace in the capital of Brunei has room for everyone. Prince Abdul Malik, 31, exchanged vows with Dayangku, 22, Raabiatul Adawiya Pengiran Haji Bolkia.
The newlyweds, when they first appeared in public, literally sparkled with richly decorated outfits in the Malay style, while the young wife of the Sultan's son was wearing a set of gold jewelry with diamonds and emeralds the size of a quail's egg. And in the hands of the bride, instead of a bouquet of flowers, there was a bouquet of precious stones. Shoes from the $ 4,000 Christian Louboutin collection were spotted on the girl's feet, and a heavy gold bracelet glittered on her ankle. 
The royal wedding of the future Sultan of Brunei, Prince Abdul Malik, with his chosen one, 22-year-old programmer Dayangku Raabi'atul ‘Adawiyyah Pengiran Haji Bolkiah, overshadowed the luxury of even the wedding of the Crown Prince of the British throne, which, in comparison with this, could be called rather modest. The prince of Brunei and his chosen one were dressed in wedding robes embroidered with real gold, and the bride's bouquet was made of precious stones. 
Prince Abdul Malik is the youngest of the four sons of the reigning Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and the second challenger to the throne after his father. The wedding ceremony took place 11 days after the engagement. 
The solemn wedding ceremony took place at the Sultan's palace in the capital of Brunei, in Bandar Seri Begawan. Istana Nurul Imam Palace - the Sultan's residence - has 1,788 rooms. 
The wedding necklace and tiara of the bride are adorned with diamonds and huge grape-sized emeralds. According to local traditions, the bride must have something borrowed on her. In this case, it was the mother-in-law's jewelry - a diamond tiara, a necklace and a brooch. 
The bride's shoes by Christian Louboutin are decorated with diamonds and gold. 
During the wedding ceremony.
Brunei, a 400,000-strong long-standing British colony on the northwest coast of Borneo, is an absolute monarchy (sultanate). In Brunei, ruled by a 68-year-old sultan, he is both the head of state, head of government, minister of national defense and minister of finance. 
Prince Abdul Malik with his father, the Sultan of Brunei. Royals have often been criticized for being overly extravagant. "The Telegraph" recalled that in 1996, Michael Jackson was to receive 10 million pounds for a concert in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Sultan. However, dissatisfaction with the state system in the country is small, which is a consequence of the high standard of living of its citizens, as well as free education and health care. 
The sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, has five sons and seven daughters from three marriages. Prince Abdul Malik is the second in line heir to the Brunei throne. The first son, Crown Prince of Brunei Al-Muhtadi Bill, got married more than 10 years ago. 
The Sultan of Brunei, the groom's father and fuel tycoon, is one of the richest men in the world. His fortune is estimated at $ 20-80 billion. Hassanal Bolkiah has ruled his country since 1967. 
About five thousand guests were invited to the wedding of Prince Abdul Malik.
The Sultan of Brunei is one of the richest people in the world. He surprises the world with boundless luxury. The whole world with envy discusses the published scandalous data on his expenses, and he continues to live in grand style. One of his recent purchases is an Airbus A340 for US $ 100 million.
1. The Airbus A340 is a long-range four-engine wide-body jet passenger aircraft developed by Airbus SAS, the world's longest passenger aircraft with a fuselage length of 75.3 meters. Due to its large wingspan and high fuel consumption, the A340-212 was not in demand - a total of 28 such aircraft were produced, including the Sultan version.
2. Corridor in the Sultan's plane.
3. Meeting room.
4. And this is very romantic called "compartment compartment".
5. Toilet with shower. All plumbing on the plane is gilded.
6. And finally, the golden shell.
8. Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, has been flying an Airbus A340-212 for a long time, and, according to American intelligence, getting on board is more difficult than entering a room with a US nuclear weapon launch system.
9. The Sultan bought an Airbus A340-212 for $ 100 million, after which he gave it for revision to the American military department (!) Raytheon, which for $ 120 million completely changed the interior decoration of the aircraft, and slightly modernized it. Additional fuel tanks increased the flight range to 15 thousand km, against 12.4 thousand for the production model.
10. The airbus of the Sultan of Brunei was decorated in the colors of the national flag.
11. Hassanal Bolkiah from the day of his birth was surrounded by gold and diamonds. In October 1967, at the age of 21, Bolkiah took over as Sultan of Brunei and began to increase his wealth. Gold accompanies the Sultan everywhere, even in the sky.
One of the richest people in the world, the Sultan of Brunei, married his daughter.
Father's generosity knew no bounds; few have seen such a luxury.
The dazzling ceremony took place in the monarch's 1,700-room palace.
The daughter was in a dazzlingly fluffy dress, her chosen one was Penjiran Haji Muhammad Razini.
Princess Hajja Hafiza Sururul Bolkiah, 32, the fifth child of the Sultan's family, and her fiancé, who recently turned 29, exchanged vows in front of family and friends, royalty and international leaders.
The bride and groom work in the government as employees of the Sultan of Brunei. Hafiza holds a degree in business administration from a senior position in the finance ministry and Razini is one of the prime minister's staff.
The Sultan is the prime minister of a small but oil-rich Muslim sultanate, ruled by the same royal family for 600 years, and also serves as finance minister and defense minister.
Sultan of Brunei, Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, in honor of his daughter's wedding, created a magnificent ceremony by ordering a cafe for a wedding in Tula. This is a joke, of course, the celebration took place in the incredibly rich Throne Room of the Sultan's palace.
There, the couple exchanged vows in front of the country's most influential people, including the Prime Minister of neighboring Malaysia, Najib Razak.
The newlyweds were then formally introduced to the royal court in a lavish ceremony that marked the culmination of more than a week of wedding celebrations. Among the guests were the leaders of Southeast Asia and representatives of overseas royal families.
Weddings like these tend to be a rare source of fun in Brunei, which is known for its slow pace of life and lack of nightlife.
Crown Prince Al Mukhtabi Billah's wedding in 2004 drew big people to the country's capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, and the guest list consisted of more than 2,000 people, including members of the royal families of Japan, Jordan, the United Kingdom and Malaysia.
If among the "mere mortals" in the size of their personal fortune there is still no equal to the owner of the computer company Microsoft Bill Gates, then among the "chosen" God, as before, the most wealthy is the Sultan of Brunei Haji (he made a pilgrimage to Mecca to Muslim shrines) Hassanal Bolkiah. At the age of 61, his personal fortune (or rather, it is nothing more than the national budget of his native Sultanate of Brunei) is $ 22 billion.
40 years ago, this man became the 29th sultan of the little Malay Sultan Brunei on the island of Borneo (it also has two states of Malaysia - Sabah and Sarawak, and part of Indonesia), he actually inherited the wealth of the entire Bolkiah dynasty, which already has over 600 years old.
The Sultan of Brunei is simultaneously acting as Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, Minister of Finance of his country, as well as the head of the local religious community. In general, everything is under one-man control, so it is not surprising that His Highness remains the richest "royal heir" on our planet. In addition, world oil prices are still very high, and since there is practically nothing else in Brunei apart from oil, the wealth of its Sultan will, apparently, continue to grow at an enviable rate.
The richest man on the planet is Sultan Hassanal Bolkiyah. He is also a prime minister, minister of defense, minister of finance, and a religious leader. He is also the largest collector of expensive cars and works of the Impressionists. But most importantly, it has a lot of oil. True, in recent years the monarch has become poorer: family problems - here, it happens, and oil will not help.
Sultan and nation are one.
The official name of the state, nestled in the northwest of the island of Kalimantan (Borneo), between the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, is Brunei Darussalam, "the abode of peace". For the first time, Chinese chroniclers mentioned Brunei in the 6th century, and the sultanate reached its relative prosperity after about a thousand years, when it turned into one of the centers of the spread of Islam in the region. By that time, the local sultans controlled most of the island, and one of them (also Bolkiyah, nicknamed the Singing Captain), having built a fleet that was quite good at that time, seized a number of territories in the neighboring Philippines. However, the sultans of Brunei not only fought successfully, but also traded - primarily with China. The bulk of the export was made up of valuable wood species and a favorite delicacy of the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom - the swallow's nest.
The effectiveness of the "whip and nest" policy in relation to neighbors is evidenced by the fact that until the middle of the 19th century, Brunei was able to maintain its independence. But in 1842, a rebellion broke out on the island, and the then sultan resorted to the help of a European - English adventurer James Brook, who bought the latest weapons and equipped mercenaries. Having suppressed the uprising, the sovereign, apparently, underestimated that the West was also a rather delicate matter, and in gratitude bestowed on Brook the title of Raja of Sarawak and vast lands. This was a fatal mistake. Representatives of the dynasty of "white rajas" with the help of the British company North Borneo, which had its own views on the natural resources of the island, gradually chopped off most of Brunei. In the end, the pretty shrunken state was surrounded on all sides by the territory of Sarawak. The final cross on sovereignty was put in 1888, when Brunei officially came under the protectorate of Great Britain.
During the Second World War, the British were driven out by the Japanese, but for only four years, after which the status quo was restored. In 1959, Great Britain granted Brunei internal autonomy and did not even object to the adoption of the first Brunei constitution. However, it did not last long, and even then only on paper.
The reason for the curtailment of democracy and the tightening of the power screws was another uprising against the then Sultan Omar, raised in 1963 by the People's Party of Brunei. The Sultan was ready to join the Malaysian federation that was being created, the opposition in every possible way hindered this. Omar suppressed the uprising, but he also drew conclusions from what had happened - he slowed down the entry into the federation, put the opposition in line, and himself, tired of state activities, abdicated the throne in favor of his son, Prince Hassanal Bolkiyah, instructing him not to play democracy anymore, but to rule the country alone, with the help of decrees. Which he did until recently.
Haji Hassanal Bolkiyah Muizzaddin Vadaulah was born on July 15, 1946. The prince was educated at local private schools and a university in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), after which he graduated from the elite Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst (UK). By the time of the coronation, which took place on August 1, 1968, Bolkiyah was not at all the richest man on the planet and generally lived relatively modestly - albeit in a palace, but in a wooden one, on stilts (this is how the Malays, who make up the majority of the population of Brunei, built their homes for a long time) ...
Oil and gas were found in Borneo at the beginning of the last century, and the Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch / Shell was the first to share the license pie. But the richest deposits were discovered later on a tiny swampy patch of land called Brunei. Brunei Shell Petroleum was founded, owned on a parity basis by Royal Dutch / Shell and the ruling dynasty. Millions of barrels of oil were pumped into the company's tankers (Brunei ranks third in oil production in Southeast Asia - 163 thousand barrels per day - and fourth in the world for the production of liquefied gas), and billions of dollars poured into the accounts of the royal family.
When Brunei gained independence on January 1, 1984, Sultan Bolkiyah was already firmly registered at the top of Forbes magazine's famous list of four hundred super-rich, and four years later took the first line in it. And his sultanate has become one of the leaders in terms of living standards among Asian states.
The tale of 1001 towers.
The population of Brunei does not know what political parties, opposition, independent media, elections are: the sultan personally appoints officials at all levels, and he also issues decrees in the rank of laws. H 
on the other hand, all 345 thousand Bruneians do not pay income tax, they receive gifts on the sultan's birthday, actively use interest-free loans (for which they even buy private planes), are provided with free health care and education, including any educational institution abroad to choose from; in addition (the specifics of the Islamic monarchy), the state pays for the traditional annual pilgrimage to Mecca - the hajj. So one of the most severe punishments for the Sultan's subjects is deprivation of citizenship..
The average annual income of Bruneians is one of the highest in Asia. In the late 1980s, it was $ 25 thousand, but recently it has dropped slightly (for reasons below). Although, to draw up a real picture, it would be necessary to calculate the average income without taking into account what the sultan and members of his large family receive. Their income, and most importantly, their expenses have long been legendary.
To begin with, Bolkiyah, no longer wishing to huddle on stilts, built a dwelling worthy of the Sultan. His palace "Istana Nurul Iman" today is the largest in the world and as such it appears in the Guinness Book of Records. No money was spared for the construction of the next wonder of the world, surpassing the Vatican in area - all together, including the famous Carrara marble and pure gold for covering the domes, cost the Sultan about $ 500 million. The total number of rooms in the palace complex is 1788, the underground garage is designed for 153 cars, a banquet hall for 4 thousand people. The paintings and sculptures kept in the palace would do honor to any museum. For just one painting by Renoir, the Sultan put out more than $ 70 million at auction, writing another record in his name in the book mentioned.
The Sultan is also fond of collecting cars - of course, the most expensive and rare; Bolkiyah has about 5 thousand of them. He also maintains a stable for two hundred thoroughbred horses, one of the best polo stadiums in the world (with a special penchant for this game), owns several planes, including a Boeing-747, and a cruise liner.
But the generosity of the ruler of Brunei is truly oriental. So, to a party on the occasion of his 50th birthday, he invited Michael Jackson himself to sing for $ 17 million, and gave his daughter an A-340 airbus worth $ 100 million for his birthday. to the sultan about $ 250 thousand. On the days of such arrivals, the most famous boutiques and fashion houses arrange an off-site sale at the hotel where the dear guest and his entourage are staying. A representative of the Armani house once remarked that what the members of this family bought from us would be enough to dress an entire country.
More recently, the Sultan has erected the most expensive hotel in the world, the Empire. Almost five times more money was spent on its construction than on the palace of Bolkiyah himself (inflation!): $ 2.7 billion. the process is sitting on pure gold. In the hotel, all plumbing is made of it (as well as door handles, air conditioning buttons, etc.).
True, the hotel forced this wonderful building. Ten years ago, the Sultan decided to build just a guest house for friends and relatives. 250 architects were hired and asked to be creative. Therefore, crystal lamps were ordered in Austria, green marble - in Sardinia, silk for the interior upholstery of cabinets - in China, silver - in England, and stereos for each room were ordered from Denmark. Swimming pool with seawater with an area of 11 thousand square meters. m was also designed as a candidate for the Guinness Book of Records.
However, five years later, the construction of the century was suspended: an audit appointed by the Sultan revealed the misappropriation of funds by the main contractor. And in order to somehow get back the money spent, the guest house was redesigned into a super hotel with 433 rooms. But this establishment of exemplary life will be able to pay off not earlier than in half a century, and even then only when fully loaded.
It's time to name the mentioned waste contractor. This is the younger brother of the Sultan, Prince Geoffrey Bolkiyah, a constant headache for the ruler of Brunei, and also the main source of trouble for the state, that is, the Sultan, treasury.
And you, brother ...
In comparison with his younger brother, the Sultan, if not an ascetic-unmercenary, then at least a statesman, who, allowing himself small joys, also cares about the well-being of his subjects. Prince Jeffrey is another matter. He always viewed the petrodollars flowing into the country as a small change given to him personally for pocket expenses. The prince maintained this belief as he headed the Treasury Department, government investment corporations and construction companies that erected projects ranging from the aforementioned guest house to Brunei's first satellite TV center.
However, no government official's salary would have been enough for the prince's pocket expenses, even the monthly $ 300 thousand issued by his older brother did not help. Jeffrey Bolkiyah knew a lot about shopping. He had 30 units of personal housing, including a London mansion on Park Lane ($ 34 million) and a villa in Beverly Hills ($ 13 million), a dozen hotels, a collection of jewelry (its nail was a diamond bought for $ 400 million from the British royal family) and own garage Rolls-Royce and other expensive cars (though more modest than the Sultan's: only 600 cars).
In the end, the spending of the dissolute prince caused such damage to the country's economy and the state of Hassanal himself that he decided to talk to Jeffrey not in a brotherly way, but in a Sultan manner. And how the middle of the brothers, Prince Mohammed Bolkiyah, tried to wind up the sultan. He, unlike Hassanal and Jeffrey, was modest and fanatically religious, which did not prevent him from envying both.
At first, the playboy Jeffrey, who traveled around the world in the company of fifty friends from expensive escort services (the prince left four loyal wives at home on the farm), was able to neutralize the holy brother. When in the mid-1980s two of the country's leading companies went bankrupt, controlling interests of which belonged to Mohammed, Jeffrey managed to convince Hassanal that his middle brother, a worthless businessman, would even let his family go around the world. The retaliatory strike was not long in coming. After taking the post of foreign minister, Mohammed did not long look for incriminating evidence on Jeffrey - just one of his former friends filed a lawsuit against him, claiming that the prince used her as a sex slave. And all would be fine, but the plaintiff turned out to be the former Miss America, and this is actually an international scandal.
But Hassanal was not yet going to seriously quarrel with his younger brother, and the case was hushed up. But the next "hit" of Mohammed was a success. The reason was again a scandal - this time a loud litigation between Prince Jeffrey and his confidants, the Manukyan brothers. They claimed that, on his behalf, they bought antiques and jewelry worth more than $ 800 million, and the prince refused to buy at the last moment, thereby causing damage to the Manukyans in the amount of $ 130 million. the price by a secret deal with the seller. While the high-profile case was being heard in London, Mohammed, taking advantage of the absence of Hassanal and Jeffrey in the country, ordered the freezing of the bank accounts of companies that were part of the state investment corporation Amedeo, which was also headed by Jeffrey, and when the brothers returned, he reported to the elder that the corporation had ordered a long life from for the squandering of the younger.
It was in 1998, and this time the Sultan willingly accepted the version proposed by Mohammed. By that time, both the economic situation of the country and the personal financial situation of the head of state had significantly deteriorated. In this situation, the squandering prince was ideally suited for the role of the scapegoat.
Back in the early 1990s, the Sultan was familiarized with the forecast of experts who predicted the complete depletion of oil reserves in Brunei in the next 25-30 years. Having decided to dispose of the funds accumulated by that time in a state manner, Bolkiyah created a special fund - the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA), through which he invested money in promising businesses around the world. In 1994, Prince Jeffrey took over the BIA and in three years brought the fund to bankruptcy (with $ 3.5 billion in debt), and his elder brother's personal fortune, estimated at $ 30-40 billion, was reduced by almost half. (Estimates are indirect, since all data on the well-being of the monarch in Brunei are equated to state secrets.)
In all fairness, it should be noted that there were, of course, objective reasons: a sharp drop in oil prices in 1997 (oil and gas exports account for up to 93% of the country's budget revenues), and a general decline in the Asian economy. However, Sultan Bolkiyahu needed to find a specific attacker - even his subjects, who had lived happily ever after and were therefore not interested in the economy, felt that something was wrong in the Brunei kingdom. Their incomes, unlike those of the sovereign, are not a secret: over the past 20 years, per capita income has fallen by almost 35%.
As a result, the sultan filed a complaint against his brother in his own Supreme Court, accusing Jeffrey of embezzling $ 15 billion, and also organized an international audit of all his commercial cases. In the meantime, the court and the case, freed my brother from the duties of finance minister (and at the same time drove Mohammed's earphone from the post of foreign minister, taking both portfolios for himself), demanded that Geoffrey's accounts be arrested, and the prince himself was summoned from London to the carpet.
Friends did not advise the prince to return: it could cost him his head. For more than a year, Jeffrey with his four wives and 17 children eked out a miserable existence ($ 60 thousand a month) in London, but then, unable to withstand inhuman conditions, he still went home to surrender. However, everything worked out - the brothers agreed. Jeffrey promised to return what he could, and in 2001, at an auction in Brunei, 10,000 units of the prince's personal property were sold, occupying 21 warehouses. Nevertheless, Hassanal forbade his brother to appear in Brunei for another five years. Family problems, who have they passed!
When the bowels are empty.
This story made Sultan Bolkiyakh seriously think about the immediate prospects - personal and his state. Over the past two decades, life in Brunei - even despite the obvious costs of a religious order, such as the ban on the sale of alcohol and other joys of democracy - has envied many of its neighbors. But it is impossible to sit forever on the oil needle, and this was understood in the small Asian sultanate. Therefore, Hassanal Bolkiyah, remembering that he was also the head of the government, began to energetically seek a replacement for oil and gas exports.
And since no other economy in the state, except for raw materials, existed in principle, then Bolkiyakh had no choice - Brunei would become a new offshore company! True, to implement this obvious scheme, it was necessary to work hard.
Spoiled by a well-fed and comfortable life-a fairy tale, Bruneians did not feel the need for any financial and economic instruments, without which you cannot build a real, not a fabulous economy, even an offshore one. There were no stock exchanges in Brunei, and in fact there was no international trade. In addition to local, only seven foreign banks with total assets of $ 7 billion operated on the territory of the country (in the exemplary offshore - Luxembourg - about 8 thousand investment funds, whose property is estimated at $ 1.3 trillion, have built a nest). In short, the economy of the Sultanate turned out to be not just neglected, it did not seem to exist at all.
First of all, Hassanal Bolkiyah hired intelligent specialists in international finance and international law at the beginning of 2000, giving them the task of developing a plan of all the necessary measures for Brunei's early entry into the world economy. Lawyers quickly figured out how to bring local legislation in line with international law (those sections that relate to the fight against money laundering and tax evasion), and the sultan just as quickly introduced new laws by his decree. In 2002, the International Financial Center opened in Brunei and a branch of Royal Bank of Canada was opened, which received the first offshore banking license.
And although conducting a credit and financial business in an Islamic way is fraught with certain difficulties (as you know, all activities involving lending at interest are prohibited for Muslims), the Sultan does not lose optimism - the Arab business world somehow learned to bypass these prohibitions, and Brunei bankers. In any case, Bolkiyakh still has enough money for first-class consultants.
Meanwhile, his personal fortune, which today is estimated at only $ 7-10 billion (he had to forget about the first places in the Forbes list for a long time), in the near future may decrease even further. And again for domestic, family reasons.
At the beginning of last year, the Sultan announced that he was divorcing his second wife Miriam. They married for a long time, Bolkiyah was then only a prince and husband of his cousin, and Miriam worked as a flight attendant. The Sultan lived with both wives for more than 20 years (although Islam allows to have four), as they say, in perfect harmony, but something prompted him to divorce. The reason has not yet been disclosed, but it will inevitably surface if the case comes to court: according to the same Islamic laws, a Muslim is obliged to support his ex-wife. True, there is also a reservation: if it is proved that the spouse behaved unworthy of the wife of the faithful, she is deprived of the right to a share of the husband's fortune.
Miriam will be able to defend her rights - and one more entry in the Guinness Book of Records is guaranteed. Until now, the record holder of the "divorce business" is Sally Crooker-Pool, who received $ 75 million from the ex-husband of Prince Karim Agi Khan IV (the late Princess Diana was content with only $ 22.5 million from Prince Charles - by the way, Prince Jeffrey's permanent polo partner) ... But the state of the Sultan of Brunei cannot be compared with the state of Prince Karim, so it will be lightened by a much greater amount.
And then there are the problems with the heir to the throne. The eldest son from his first wife, Prince Haji al-Muhtadi Billah, as often happens in dynastic kinship marriages, suffers from a whole bunch of diseases, including diabetes and progressive myopia. Billach recently graduated from Oxford and has already been proclaimed the official heir to the throne. However, whether he will get his hands on the still prosperous country depends on how long the oil crane stays on. More has already flowed out of it than remained in the bowels of Brunei.
THE TSAR'S STABLE.
Wheelbase of Brunei.
In four underground garages of the Sultan of Brunei with a total area of 1 sq. km collected not only the most expensive models in the world. Among the 5 thousand storage units of this "diamond fund" of the modern automobile industry there are cars made in a single copy on the personal order of the monarch.
The owner is especially proud of the park of the rarest Ferraris. Four unique variants of the Venice model: a coupe, a convertible, a four-door sedan and a five-door station wagon (as it is written in one specialized edition for motorists, "a sedan, let alone a station wagon for Ferrari is like a trailer for a Formula 1 car"). All of them are made on the platform of the 456th model - a car that itself pulls for $ 200 thousand. There are also a couple of Ferrari Mythos concept cars that did not get into mass production. Finally, the Sultan owns the F-X, which is equipped with a push-button semi-automatic transmission developed by Prodrive and only officially appeared on the 355 F-1. However, an exception was made for the royal customer - he received his car with this innovation a little earlier. And not one, but six! Almost all of the Ferraris that have been redesigned are made in the Pininfarina studio.
The collection of Mercedes is not inferior to the Ferrari park - the sultan buys cars of this brand in bulk. In any case, getting a couple of dozen custom-made convertibles based on the CL-600 two-door coupe is not a problem for the ruler of Brunei. Although this was not enough for him - more than 40 more ordinary (with a standard body) copies came in pursuit. The highlight of the royal collection is the world's only CLK-GTR Le Man with right-hand drive. In addition, the specialists of the famous tuning company AMG recreated for the Sultan six copies of the iconic 300 SL model of 1954.
And finally, the royal car stable is richly represented by Rolls-Royce and Bentley, to which the Sultan of Bolkiyah has a special affection. First of all, these are the unique Bentley Java Estate concept cars and the Bentley Dominator SUV. For nearly a century of its existence, Bentley has not released a single SUV - as they say, not its level. But if the Sultan of Brunei asks - no questions asked, we will do it (on the Range Rover chassis)! The same applies to the sporty Rolls-Royce, equipped with a 540-horsepower twin-turbo engine. The Sultan of Brunei is one of the most important customers of the company, he buys up to 50 Rolls-Royce cars a year - both "ordinary" (this word requires quotes for the products of the plant in Crewe) and ceremonial, with a special sultan spec ( there is even a model with solid gold jewelry). The cost of each such car is approaching or even surpassing the $ 1 million bar. And to service this world's largest fleet of Rolls-Royce, the Sultan has specially ordered a whole team of mechanics from Great Britain.
In the garages of the ruler of Brunei there are eight more McLaren F1, Porsche-962 LMS (tuning studio Dauer), two rarest racing supercars Jaguar XJR 15, three equally rare Cizetta V16 Moroder Ts (author's project by Marcello Gandini), Lamborghini Diablo Jota, assembled to order Aston Martin AM3 and AM4 (each worth $ 1.5 million), not counting the 300 production cars of this brand.
A special section of the collection is dedicated to Formula 1. The Sultan collected all the championship cars that have won competitions since 1980. Not copies, but real cars bought directly from the owners of "stables" Ferrari, McLaren and others. How much was paid for these rarities is not reported: for the Sultan, as a true collector, money does not matter.
True, according to press reports, after the scandal in the royal family (meaning the story with Prince Jeffrey), the sultan closed his garage - he stopped purchasing and financing the development of supercars for the collection.
The head of state and government is Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkia Muizaddin Waddola, one of the richest people on the planet (Hassanal Bolkiah, crowned August 1, 1968, prime minister of independent Brunei since January 1, 1984). The cabinet of ministers is appointed and controlled by the monarch. Also, government bodies include the Religious Council (councilors are appointed by the monarch, are responsible for the religious aspects of the country's life), the Privy Council (deals with constitutional issues) and the Council of the Throne Heritage (deals with issues of genealogy and inheritance of the monarchy). Legislative power belongs to the Legislative Council, which was convened after a twenty-year hiatus on September 25, 2004 and dissolved on September 1, 2005 with the aim of forming a new Council (29 members are appointed by the Sultan).
Stamp Brunei 1907 10c.
In January 2004, Brunei celebrated a small anniversary - the 20th anniversary of independence. Seemingly insignificant event, and it is unlikely that the world media would have paid attention to it if this state was not Brunei.
The first and main point of the local constitution sounds extremely unusual: the ruler of the country cannot commit injustice, and his actions are not subject to appeal either in national or foreign courts.
Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah with his first wife Pengiran Anak Saleh and third wife Azrinaz Mazhar Hakim
Recently, in a topic about the Spanish queen Leticia, I wrote that there are beautiful Asian princesses and queens in the world, but little is known about them.
Let's get to know someone! Let's start with Brunei.
Brunei is a state (sultanate) in Southeast Asia, on the northwestern coast of Kalimantan. It is washed by the South China Sea. It has a population of 401,890. Brunei is one of the smallest countries that still has a monarchy, and its monarchs are among the richest royal families in the world.
The royal gilded palace, in which the family lives, has 1,788 rooms, of which 257 are bathrooms. Living area - 200,000 square meters (for clarity, imagine a football field, in the palace there will be exactly 20 of them). Under the palace is a huge garage for 500 Mercedes, 350 Bentleys, 170 Jaguars and 130 Rolls-Royces.
The current ruler is the 29th Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, a representative of a dynasty that has ruled since the 14th century.
Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah with his first wife Pengiran Anak Saleh
The sultan was married 3 times. He is still married to his first wife, but he divorced the second and third, depriving them of all titles.
Pengiran Anak Saleh
Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah with first wife Penghiran Anak Saleh and second wife of Hajj Mariam
Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah with the second wife of Hajj Mariam
His second wife was a Royal Brunei Airlines flight attendant, with whom he lived for more than 20 years, and his third wife was a Malaysian television journalist 33 years his junior.
Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah with his third wife Azrinaz Mazhar Hakim
The sultan has 12 children, 5 sons and 7 daughters from three wives.
About most of them, nothing is known at all, except for their names. And even photographs appear mainly in connection with weddings. Moreover, princesses are also confused, under the same name, princesses publish photographs of clearly different women.
But they are in very beautiful Brunei national costumes, which are very interesting to see.
Princess Sarah
Princess Sara, née Sarah Binti Salleh Ab-Rahaman (born 1987), became Crown Princess of Brunei when she married Crown Prince Al-Muhtadi Billah (eldest son of the Sultan) in 2004, at the age of 17.
However, she met the prince when she was 14 and she was still in school.
Sarah Salleh's father is a Brunei businessman, and her mother is a Swiss nurse, Suzanne Aebi. She is the third and youngest child in the family.
Sarah received her Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and Management from the University of Brunei Darussalam, and her husband attended the same university.
Sarah was also a student at the university cadet corps.
Now she and the prince have three children, two sons and a daughter.
Princess Majida
Princess Majida was born in 1976 and is the fourth child of the Sultan. In 2007, the princess married Khayrule Khalile, who is the Assistant Executive Director in the office of the Prime Minister of Brunei.
Princess Hafiz
Princess Hafiza (born 1980) is the fifth of 12 children of the current Sultan of Brunei Hasanal Bolkia.
In 2012, 32-year-old Hafiza married a simple employee who is 2 years younger than his wife.
Hafiza works in the Ministry of Finance (her father is the Minister of Finance), and her husband works for the Prime Minister, in the department that deals with economic issues.
These are three princesses, in whose personalities I am sure that they are the ones in the photographs. In general, the life of the royal houses of Asia is very poorly covered in the press. Even photos are not normal anywhere, what kind of prince or princess looks like.
Arriving in the evening from the island of Bali to the capital of Brunei, we settled in the Palm Garden Hotel Brunei ($ 70 / room) and, walking through the surrounding streets, got to know the capital of the Sultanate a little. By 9 o'clock in the evening, the city had already fallen into a lethargic sleep - everywhere it was quiet, calm and nowhere loud music was heard.
In the evening we agreed with a private guide Feizal about upcoming excursions around the city and its environs.
What is this country - Brunei and who rules it?
After breakfast, Faisal picked us up and took us on a city tour. He turned out to be quite erudite and knew many facts from the history of Brunei.
Our guide Faizal
Although little is known about the ancient times that preceded the spread of Islam in the lands of Brunei and the formation of the state - no one kept any archives at that time. For the first time, Europeans learned about these lands from the Portuguese Magellan, who landed on the shores of Brunei in 1522. In 1888, the country became a British protectorate for almost a hundred years.
In the 20s of the last century, natural gas and oil fields were discovered here (and, by the irony of the Almighty, only within the borders of Brunei!) And the little sultanate suddenly became fantastically rich.
The then Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin turned out to be a clever girl and, skillfully combining his own interests with British and Malay interests, he managed to preserve both the country's sovereignty and control over fantastic oil and gas reserves, which laid the foundations for the country's current prosperity.
In 1967, he ceded the throne to Haji Hassanal's son Bolkiah, who still rules the country. And now the son, who became the 29th Sultan, is considered one of the richest people in the world. According to the accepted custom, each new sultan, ascending the throne, builds a new temple. He did not deviate from this tradition either.
The Jame'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah mosque, built by him at the intersection of the main thoroughfares of the city, is visible from almost everywhere. This is a real masterpiece of Muslim architecture.
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The role of his ministers, assistants and confidants, as a rule, are members of his family and close relatives. Brunei means "blessed abode of peace" in translation, which, in general, the authorities managed to create and corresponds to reality.
Thanks to the inexhaustible oil and gas pipe and the sultan's clever policies, he managed to build an absolute hereditary theocratic monarchy in the country. Is this good in our enlightened age?
Brunei practice has shown that if the monarch is reasonable and who received not only local, but also English upbringing and education, is familiar with the etiquette of Buckingham Palace, and even knows how to play cricket, rugby, golf and participating along with residents in city marathons, then with this the monarch will live well not only the current 400 thousand, but also several times more Bruneians.
Sultan and his first wife
He is now 69 years old and has been married three times. The first wife is Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Salexa and, apparently, the most beloved - almost his age. She survived two subsequent spouses with whom the Sultan married and divorced and who were 20-30 years younger than her.
It can be seen that he has not lost his mind in his old age. But, being a devout Muslim and a man far from poor, he also has a harem of 700 concubines. He probably never slept with some of them - their duty is to sing and dance, entertain and create an aura of constant celebration around the sovereign.
It looks very simple and sporty. His rich hobbies include collecting impressionist paintings and unique and expensive cars. There are a lot of them in his car fleet and the exact count has been lost - they say, something like 5-7 thousand. Has a "modest" palace with 1,788 apartments and 257 bathrooms.
Despite his hobbies, he tried to be closer to his people - he took his second and third wives from the "commoners" - a flight attendant and a TV journalist, whom he had already divorced.
Sultan with his first and third wives
There is even one day - the last day of Ramadan - when any person, including a tourist, can easily come to his palace and receive a gift and a handshake from him. But we were at the end of January, so we didn't bother with such an honor.
Such is the Sultan of Brunei - one of the richest people in the world.
The population of the sultanate, of course, with both hands for him. Gossip about him and his many relatives is not supported by either the population or the media. Yes, probably, they do not give such a reason - after all, everything here is done soberly.
True, there was one incident with his brother Jeffrey, whom he nevertheless did not hesitate to "imprison" (he sent with his wives into exile in London, where he left only $ 300 thousand a month for bread and water) for corruption during the construction of the most expensive hotel on the north coast of Brunei - The Empire Hotel & Country Club 5 *.
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But, in general, this is not typical for the country. High salaries in all areas of Brunei life are holding back this process. Here, not only all the laws of the state's life are strictly observed, but also the generally accepted rules and norms of behavior associated with Islam. Since 1991, the sale of alcohol has been banned in the country, schools have begun to study Islam and, in general, have tightened the screws around this religion. At the same time, the Sultan wisely gave place to other religions, including Buddhism and Christianity.
The main ethnos of Brunei is the Malays (not to be confused with the Malanians!) And related peoples. And it was with such and such a people that he managed to build here a kind of socialism-communism, where not only the Sultan lives well, but also all the other inhabitants of the country.
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Ordinary Bruneians have nothing to grieve
Actually, the situation is exactly the same in the United Arab Emirates - there the sultans, sitting on an oil and gas pipe, also worry not only about themselves.
Sultan Bolkiah pursues a policy of careful modernization of society. And this is correct, otherwise the people can immediately "go down the roof" from all the newfangled novelties of our civilization.
Brunei Hospital
Every day in the morning and in the evening we stopped at the central Brunei hospital to visit our comrade with malaria in Papua. It is a large building complex similar to our typical large city hospitals. It stands at a fork in several roads and no other structures can be seen around it - a whole medical town.
Ambulance is available to all Brunei citizens
There is everything that is in our hospitals - the emergency department, to which ambulances often flew up, the intensive care unit, all sorts of specialized departments, laboratories, etc. Everyone, including a non-citizen of Brunei, can apply to the emergency department.
Arriving here immediately on our first evening, we went into the admission department, which was a large room in which 20 people were sitting. All of them were waiting for their turn to two doctors who, after examining the patient, gave out a summary of what to do next. The line moved slowly and then I went straight to the intensive care unit and intensive care unit and told about our case. The doctor on duty, immediately assessing the situation, ordered the patient to be brought to their department, and they immediately prepared a place for him and took blood tests.
All wards in intensive care are mobile. That is, thanks to the curtains that move and slide along the guides on the ceiling, they are transformed into two-three, four-bed chambers. Very comfortably. Both men and women can be in such a chamber. Does it really matter who you are next to when you lie on a drip all day?
Mobile ward at Brunei hospital
Fifteen minutes later, having received a blood test, the doctor pronounced a harsh verdict - “Malaria! We leave it here ”! Then he gave instructions to several nurses and nurses, each of whom then did only some of his own manipulations. The treatment process began immediately!
So, the game of the lottery with malaria in the jungle of Papua at a visit to the Korowai cannibals ended with a score of 1:11!
It was pleasant to observe the well-coordinated medical process from the outside. I thought it was, and to pass the tests myself, but the typical symptoms have not yet been observed, and therefore they decided to do it in the morning in a paid laboratory. This analysis cost $ 10.
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One of our friend's attending physicians
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Nurse on duty
Every day our patient's doctors changed, but it was clear that all the doctors were experienced and at the same time knew English well, in contrast to the nurses who spoke only their Brunei. Doctors 'salaries were about $ 6,000 a month, and nurses' salaries were about two.
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Everything will be fine!
After staying in the hospital for four days, our sick friend was discharged in a satisfactory condition and he flew home with the recommendations of the Brunei doctors, thanks to whom everything later ended well and ended.
Bruneians
Did you manage to see the life of ordinary Bruneians? Seems Yes. It seemed that they live in abundance. The average resident has an income of about $ 20,000 a year. All residents improve their health free of charge and can also study for free in any country abroad. They don't pay taxes. Every inhabitant of this country is provided with a life pension that allows them to live comfortably.
In addition, all Bruneans receive gifts on his birthday and actively use bank interest-free loans, for which they buy expensive things. Sometimes planes. In addition, the state pays for each hajj - the traditional annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
This is such a modest, calm and well-fed life among Bruneians - I worked, ate, prayed and went to bed. They have no so-called. "Nightlife". So what? Back in the 1990s, the sale of alcohol was banned in Brunei. The whole life of Brunei is governed by the generally accepted law - "Adat". And the Ministry of Religious Affairs enforces strict Muslim rules.
There is "halal" - what is allowed, and there is "haram" - actions that are prohibited. For example, when it comes to haram in food, the Qur'an clearly defines a list of foods, the use of which is strictly prohibited in Islam. And, first of all, pork belongs to them.
And in the financial sector, usury, risky investments and financing of activities prohibited by Sharia (pornography, alcohol, drugs, etc.) are prohibited.
A liter of gasoline costs 53 Brunei cents (1BND = 0.8USD), the fine for garbage is 1,000 BND. Penalty for fun games is 10.000 BND. There are no casinos or gambling machines in the country.
Brunei women, it seemed to me, feel quite free compared to their sisters in other Muslim countries.
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They wear both national and European clothes. They drive cars and even serve in the police. There are a lot of them in the airport service. But, even being an officer, they cover their heads with a handkerchief. And the result is an interesting picture for us - there is a short and overweight officer in uniform standing in front of you - trousers with a tunic and a scarf, and even sternly asks - "Are there illegal things in the luggage?"
Such, at first glance, is the life of Brunei. Calm and confident for the future of every citizen.
Therefore, probably the most severe punishment for a crime for a Brunei will not be imprisonment or cutting off a hand, but the deprivation of such a wonderful citizenship.
What are the main attractions of the capital of the Sultanate and its environs? I think we will be able to get to know them in three days.
