Earlier this year, Nepal voted to eliminate its 240-year-old Hindu monarchy, and former king Gyanendra was forced to turn over his royal palace in Kathmandu, which has become a museum.
So far the 15 rulers on our list have held on to their riches, despite controversy ranging from tax evasion to the dissolution of parliaments in Swaziland and Kuwait. As a group, the world's 15 richest royals have increased their total wealth to A$152 billion, up from A$110 billion last year.
At the top of our list is Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, whose A$40 billion estimated net worth is up sevenfold as a result of increased transparency of his Crown Property Holdings. He takes the top spot from the only other Asian monarch on the list, the Sultan of Brunei, worth A$23 billion, one of only two rulers worth less than they were last year. The sultan, who inherited the riches of an unbroken 600-year-old Muslim dynasty, has had to cut back on his country's oil production because of depleting reserves.
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