Follow Us
Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday, leaving behind a personal fortune valued at well over $500 million to her son, King Charles III, and the rest of the royal family.
Exactly how the royal fortunes break down is a bit of a mystery. But before he became the monarch, Charles’s net worth was around $440 million, according to an estimate provided by research institute Wealth-X, an Altrata company, thanks to significant real estate holdings and other assets such as jewelry and art.
Much of his wealth stemmed from the Duchy of Cornwall, which will now pass to his son, Prince William. Since taking over the land portfolio at 21 years old, Charles has earned hundreds of millions of pounds, and in the 2021–2022 financial year alone, he received 23 million pounds in so-called “surplus” payments, according to the duchy’s annual accounts.
As a prince, he also received money via the annual Sovereign Grant, which is funded by British taxpayers. He will continue to be paid by the grant in his role as King.
It’s unclear exactly what assets belong to him now, and exactly what it all is worth: The Queen personally owned private properties including Balmoral Castle in Scotland and Sandringham House in England (she also invested millions of pounds in offshore accounts, as detailed by the Paradise Papers). It is also not clear what she will leave to Charles and what she will leave to her other children—Prince Andrew, Princess Anne, and Prince Edward—her grandchildren, and other possible beneficiaries.
But it is likely a significant amount will be left to Charles: Whatever he will inherit will come tax-free, thanks to an agreement made with the British government that exempts certain parts of the monarch’s estate from the United Kingdom’s 40% inheritance tax if it is bequeathed to the immediate successor. Wealth-X estimates the Queen’s personal net worth was around $580 million when she died.
the King is also the owner of the Crown Estate, which holds billions of dollars worth of real estate, jewelry, and fine art. These assets do not count toward Charles’ personal wealth, because they are tied to his position and cannot be sold.
The royal family’s wealth is both complicated and private, making it hard to assess just how much they own and who owns what. Wealth-X provided Fortune with net-worth estimates on the rest of the royal family members, which it determined by analysing all asset holdings, including privately and publicly held businesses and investable assets.