Queen Elizabeth II Isn’t as Rich as You Think

Queen Elizabeth II becomes the longest-reigning monarch in British history today, and while her country might have lost influence in the world, she has ruled over an unprecedented period of wealth creation.

Besides the unwinding of an empire and the economic booms and busts, her time as head of state has been marked by the rise of the super-rich. The emergence of billionaire financiers, entrepreneurs and oil-rich sheikhs has left the woman who inherited one of the richest thrones in the world in 1952 a relative pauper a little over six decades later, albeit one with palaces, stables and an expensive stamp collection.