When Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the residence of Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, ‘Istana Nurul Iman’, it will be different from the residence of any head of state. The world’s largest palace is spread over 2 million square feet and has 1,700 rooms and a dome of 22 carat gold. Brunei, located on the island of Borneo, is smaller than Indian states like Sikkim and Tripura, but the immense wealth and luxury lifestyle of its sultan has repeatedly attracted the attention of the world.
Bolkiah, the world’s second-longest reigning monarch after Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, is reportedly worth $30 billion. Brunei is rich in oil and natural gas reserves.
Sultan’s amazing car collection
The most important aspect of Bolkiah’s luxury lifestyle is his personal car collection, which is estimated to be worth $5 billion. The collection includes a gold-coated Rolls Royce, about 450 Ferraris and 380 Bentleys. Not just luxurious cars, but rare vehicles like the Lamborghini Urraco, Ferrari 456 GT Venice (one of only seven in the world) and a Porsche 959 are also included in one of his 200 garages.
According to the report, half of the Rolls Royce cars purchased across the world in the 1990s were owned by the Sultan and his family.
Bolkiah is also known to loosen his pocket, even for basic necessities. many times According to the report, Bolkiah regularly spends $20,000 on flying his barber from London to Brunei to take care of his grooming needs.
His private jets are also amazing. The Sultan owns a Boeing 747-400, Boeing 767-200 and Airbus A340-200 jets. However, his most valuable asset is the gold-plated Boeing 747-400, which is nicknamed the “Flying Palace”.
South China Morning Post According to the report, the interior of the aircraft is decorated with gold and has expensive chandeliers decorated with Lalique crystal.
However, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, Istana Nurul Iman is the world’s largest palace, with 1,700 rooms, 250 bathrooms and five swimming pools. Every room also has gold wash basins.
The Sultan is also fond of horses. He has reportedly built special air-conditioned stables. He also has a private zoo which houses 30 tigers and a variety of exotic bird species.
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Who is the Sultan of Brunei?
The name of this Sultan of Brunei is Hassanal Bolkiah, who is counted among the richest people in the world. Brunei got independence from Britain in the year 1984. Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddeen III became the king of Brunei on 5 October 1967. Now Hassanal Bolkiah has been on the throne here for about 59 years.
Brunei is a Muslim majority country
Brunei is 80 percent Muslim. This proportion of Muslims is much lower than that of Indonesia, a much larger country. Brunei has not allowed an opposition since independence and there is no influential civil society. The state of emergency declared in 1962 is still in effect there.
Also read: How many Hindus and Muslims are there in Brunei? Where is PM Modi going?
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)