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- King Charles has a personal fortune worth nearly $750 million, The Sunday Times reported.
- Analysis by the London newspaper found he is worth about $285 million more than the late Queen.
- A former aide said Charles became scrupulous with his finances after divorcing Princess Diana.
King Charles has a personal fortune of nearly $750 million, eclipsing the net worth of the late Queen by hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a news report.
Analysis by The Sunday Times suggested the King is worth £600 million (about $745 million), while his mother had a personal fortune of about £370 million ($460 million) in the London newspaper's 2022 Rich List that was released before she died last September.
An unnamed former advisor to Charles told the newspaper that Charles became scrupulous with his finances in the wake of his high-profile divorce from Princess Diana in 1996 that cost him £17 million (about $21 million today).
The advisor told The Sunday Times that following his divorce Charles began saving profits from the Duchy of Cornwall, a property empire now controlled by his eldest son, Prince William.
The value of the Duchy of Cornwall rose by $350 million in a decade under Charles's stewardship. It generated £23 million ($28.5 million) in profits last year and £212 million ($263 million) in the decade to 2022. Charles chose to pay income tax on that income.
However, a large chunk of his fortune comes from the 20,000 acre Sandringham estate in Norfolk, which the newspaper estimated is now worth £245 million. The home and its farmland have been owned by the royals for more than 160 years.
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Meanwhile, Balmoral castle and its 50,000 acres in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, which Prince Albert bought for Queen Victoria in 1852, is thought to be worth £210 million ($260 million).
This year's Rich List will be published in May, yet Charles is unlikely to be placed in the top 250. He is likely to be ahead of David and Victoria Beckham, who were worth £380 million ($472 million) in last year's ranking, and Sir Elton John, who was worth £395 million ($490 million).
The 2022 Rich List was topped by brothers Sri and Gopi Hinduja, whose net worth soared by more than £11 billion to £28.5 billion ($35.4 billion) – the biggest fortune in the list's 34-year history.
King Charles, whose coronation will be held on May 6, developed a reputation for frugality while he waited decades to rise to the throne. This extended to personal behavior, with the then-Prince of Wales known to always switch off lights when he left a room, according to a BBC documentary reported by Wales Online.
He also has a tendency to wear the same clothes, avoiding excessive spending on new outfits. His frugality could also reflect his environmental consciousness.
As King, Charles is now in control of the Crown Estate, worth about £15.6 billion ($19.4 billion). The profits of the estate go to the UK government's Treasury, with Charles receiving 25% back.
The Crown Estate didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider made outside normal working hours.