The Al Nahyan royal family of Abu Dhabi is the world’s richest, owning a Rs 4,000 crore presidential palace (equivalent of three Pentagons), eight private jets, and ownership of the English football club Manchester City, according to a report by GQ.
They have a net worth surpassing the combined wealth of Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani.
The family is led by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also known as MBZ. He has 18 brothers, 11 sisters, nine children and 18 grandchildren.
They live in Abu Dhabi’s Qasr Al-Watan presidential palace, a 94-acre estate with a stunning 350,000-crystal chandelier.
While the eastern wing has a “House of Knowledge” housing some prized historic artefacts, the western wing has halls used for official purposes and meetings
In 2019, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum opened the palace to the public, making it a top Middle Eastern landmark.
A glimpse of Qasr Al-Watan Palace
The Al Nahyan royal family, which rules the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, has a fortune of 305 billion dollars (Rs 25,38,667 crore) and became the world’s richest family in 2023, surpassing Walmart Inc.’s heirs’ net worth of 232.2 billion dollars (Rs 19,31,374 crore), Bloomberg reported.
The family holds a stake in Space X and Rihanna’s Fenty and owns approximately 6 percent of the world’s oil reserves.
The richest family in the world also owns some of the world’s largest megayachts, outshining even Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in the process.
President’s younger brother Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan al Nahyan has a collection of over 700 cars including the world’s largest SUV along with five Bugatti Veyron, a Lamborghini Reventon, a Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR, a Ferrari 599XX, and a McLaren MC12.
Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President’s brother, leads a 235 billion dollar (Rs 1,95,30,83,82,50,000) family-owned investment company with a 28,000 percent increase in value over the past five years.
In addition to their home in the UAE, Dubai royals own luxury properties globally, including in Paris and London. The former head of the family was known as the “landlord of London” due to his extensive collection of properties in the most prestigious areas of the UK.
In 2015, a New Yorker report revealed that the Dubai royal family possessed assets comparable to the British royal family.
Abu Dhabi United Group purchased Manchester City for Rs 2,122 crore in 2008, owning 81 percent of City Football Group, which operates Manchester City, Mumbai City, Melbourne City, and New York City football clubs.
