Fortunes of kings, queens and dictators

'KINGS, Queens and Dictators.' Even the title strikes a little awe into the heart. And indeed the latest list to be published by Forbes magazine is brimful of the names of those in whose ostentatious presence you'd probably feel obliged to curtsey or bow - possibly both at the same time.

Entrepreneurs they’re not. Their fortunes are largely derived from inheritances or positions of power. And the lines often blur between what is owned by the country and what is owned by the individual. No surprise then that these estimates are more art than science.

What do Cuba’s fatigue-wearing president Fidel Castro and Monaco’s playboy bachelor Prince Albert have in common? Not much other than lofty positions and vast fortunes. It's a diverse group that includes a British queen, an African dictator and a few Middle Eastern potentates. This year, several new faces appear on our list, in part because of the deaths of some well-known rulers, such as Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd. Taking his spot: his half-brother Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, who became king in August 2005.


World's Wealthy rulers:


Click below for more information on the world's wealthiest leaders.
• King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz
• Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah
• Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
• Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
• Hans Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein
• Prince Albert II
• Fidel Castro
• Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
• Queen Elizabeth II
• Queen Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard


THEY EARNED IT

SEE how the wealth of 'Kings, Queens and Dictators' compares to that of the world's 10 richest entrepreneurs and winners in business.

1 WILLIAM GATES III
Washington, 50, £26.6 billion. Bill Gates founded Microsoft in 1975 and is now the chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft Corporation, which had a turnover of £20.7 billion in 2005 and employs 61,000 people in 102 countries and regions.

2 WARREN BUFFETT
Nebraska, 75, £22.3 billion. The American chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, an organisation that invests in various companies, Buffett has an impressive portfolio that includes utilities, insurance, apparel and flight services, as well as chunks of American Express, Coca-Cola and Gillette.

3 CARLOS SLIM HELU
Mexico, 66, £15.9 billion. Helu has built an industrial, retail, and telecommunications empire with about £8.5 billion in annual sales. His companies include Telmex and Prodigy Inc, the third-largest internet service provider in the US.

4 INGVAR KAMPRAD
Sweden, 79, £14.9 billion. Kamprad founded IKEA at the age of 17 when his father gave him some money for doing well at school. IKEA originally sold a variety of goods from watches to stockings but, in 1947, Kamprad introduced furniture into his product line. Despite having stores in 33 countries, he still takes the subway to work and flies economy class.

5 LAKSHMI MITTAL
India, 55, £12.5 billion. Mittal oversees the world's largest steel company, Mittal Steel, which he founded in 1976. Mittal owns 87.4 per cent of the £14.9 billion company, which has operations in 14 countries.

6 PAUL ALLEN
Washington, 53, £11.7 billion. A childhood friend of Bill Gates, Allen is the co-founder of Microsoft but was forced to resign in 1983 after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. He has now invested in more than 50 companies, including two professional sports teams.

7 BERNARD ARNAULT
France, 57, £11.4 billion. Nicknamed "the pope of fashion", Arnault is the chairman of LVMH, an influential international group with more than 50 luxury brands including Moet & Chandon, Louis Vuitton and Fendi.

8 PRINCE ALWALEED BIN TALAL ALSAUD
Saudi Arabia, 49, £10.6 billion. A member of the Saudi royal family, Bin Talal is a private entrepreneur and an international investor. He founded the Kingdom Holding Company which invests in banking, hospitality and agriculture, among other things.

9 KENNETH THOMSON
Canada, 82, £10.4 billion. Chairman of the Thomson Corporation, a publishing group that covers printed titles, electronic media and financial services software, Thomson has also amassed an internationally famous art collection and, in 2002, he purchased Rubens' Massacre of the Innocents for £50 million.

10 LI KA-SHING
Hong Kong, 77, £10 billion. Asia's richest and most influential investor's fortune comes from diverse investments, including real estate, mobile phones and retail. Ka-Shing is also a major supplier of electricity to Hong Kong and owns the world's largest operator of container terminals.