King Charles' Private Fortune Is 3 Times Larger Than Thought—New Analysis

King Charles III's private fortune has been estimated at £1.8 billion ($2.2 billion) after analysis of his prized art collection, jewels, fancy cars and property, according to research by The Guardian.

The newspaper reported that the king's wealth is three times larger than previously thought, as past reviews didn't account for some of his major assets.

Even the new figure doesn't include the likes of Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and Windsor Castle, which aren't considered Charles' private property, but are instead owned by the Crown.

The king's spokesperson disputed the figures, telling The Guardian: "While we do not comment on private finances, your figures are a highly creative mix of speculation, assumption and inaccuracy."

However, the palace didn't say whether the figure was too low or too high, and added that royal family members' personal finances "remain private, as they do for any other individual."

The research estimated that Charles privately owns £6.3 million worth of cars, including Rolls-Royces, Bentleys and Jaguars.

One car, a 1977 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI, used during Princess Eugenie's wedding, was deemed to be worth £1.3 million, though there was some ambiguity over whether as a "state" vehicle it should be considered part of the king's private wealth.

An expert valued Balmoral Castle—which was privately owned by Queen Elizabeth II until she died there in September, 2022—at £80 million, in part because of its potential for farming, forestry and renewable energy.

Meanwhile, Sandringham—the private estate where the royals spend Christmas—was valued at £250 million. The law didn't require Charles to pay inheritance tax on either estate meaning they will likely have passed seamlessly into his hands after the death of his mother.

The queen's collection of about 70 thoroughbred horses was valued at £27 million and Charles, the newspaper reported, has already begun selling them, making £2.3 million at auction.

The royals also have a stamp collection containing hundreds of thousands of entries, which experts valued at £100 million.

Among the royal art collection was a Monet estimated at £20 million, along with another 60 works valued collectively at £24 million.

A collection of 54 privately owned jewels was estimated at a value of £553 million, while private royal shareholdings were estimated at £142 million.

The research also included the Duchy of Lancaster, a property portfolio created to bankroll the reigning monarch, which is considered to belong to the sovereign in their official capacity rather than the individual who wears the crown.

Some argue it should be viewed as a public asset rather than a private one, but its £653 million of assets were included in calculations.

The Guardian acknowledged in its coverage that calculating the net worth of royal family members is a fundamentally difficult task because much of it is hidden and there are significant disputes about what should be considered as belonging to the individual.

The newspaper attempted to determine who was the "beneficial owner" of each asset, a method sometimes applied to complex offshore funds. Past attempts to estimate the value of royal wealth restricted their analysis to included only assets that individual royal family members controlled to the point that they could be legally bought or sold.

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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