Queen Elizabeth II amassed quite a fortune during her life. In an interview with ET, royal expert Katie Nicholl discussed the finances of the royal family and shared why the estimations of their wealth are «pretty conservative» at best.«The royal family's wealth is estimated to be collectively about $442 million, which sounds pretty conservative, I think, when you think of the royal family, and their wealth, and their gems, and their art collection, and their palaces,» Nicholl explained. «Remember, not all of them are owned by them personally… Part of the problem with estimating the royal family's wealth is that no one really knows the true value of those priceless Canaletto [paintings] hanging in Buckingham Palace or the royal collection.»Things like the Imperial State Crown and other crown jewels, as well as certain royal residences, Nicholl explained, belong to the nation, not the individuals themselves.
With all of that in consideration, though, «Forbes magazine estimates the royal family’s wealth overall to be 28 billion pounds.»«The royal family takes the profits from the crown estate, which is their portfolio of land and property around the country, the rest goes to the government,» Nicholl explained. «That has proved a very balanced way of financing the royals.
As of last year, they took, in terms of the sovereign grant, $99 million.»On top of that, Queen Elizabeth had her own unique money-making ideas.«I think the queen was actually a very canny businesswoman,» Nicholl said. «Let's not forget, she changed the way the royal family was financed.
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