Is Queen Elizabeth II the World’s Biggest Landowner?
Queen Elizabeth II is well known for many things; the biggest one likely being that she is the Queen of the United Kingdom. But the royal family also owns plenty of real estate — and that includes acres and acres of land. It begs the question: Is the queen the biggest landowner in the world?
Queen Elizabeth owns 6.6 billion acres
If you thought you had a big backyard, think again. Queen Elizabeth II holds title to roughly 6.6 billion acres of land throughout the world. For reference, that’s about one-sixth of the land on the entire planet. Most of the land falls under the Crown Estate, which essentially operates as a real estate business. According to The Independent, all of the profits of the Crown Estate go to the United Kingdom’s Treasury, but it should be noted that the queen receives 15% of those profits. (Real estate has played a major role in the royal family’s net worth.) In the U.K., the queen’s real estate operations hold more than $16 billion in property. This includes many of the royal family’s residences, including Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, and Windsor Castle.
She also owns plenty of retail and commercial real estate, too — plus Australia
The queen owns a lot of property, but it isn’t all empty land or fancy homes. The Independent also reported that she owns 14 retail and shopping parks along with three shopping centers in the U.K. The retail, residential, and office space around Regent Street and St. James’ Place in London is also owned by the queen.
If prestigious residences and commercial space weren’t impressive enough, let it be known that the queen also owns Australia. She technically owns the land of any commonwealth she reigns over, which includes Australia and Canada, along with several Caribbean islands. The Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines are all islands the queen technically owns.
If you’re looking to escape winter elsewhere and want to stay within the queen’s realm, visit the Solomon Islands, Papa New Guinea, or Tuvalu. Or, explore New Zealand — she owns that too. And, of course, the entire U.K.
She is, by far, the world’s largest landowner
Queen Elizabeth is far and away the world’s largest landowner. It would be hard to surpass her impressive 6.6 billion acres. The closest to her on that front is King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who owns a mere 547 million acres. (Yes, that’s still impressive, but nowhere near the queen’s 6.6 billion.)
The royal family does visit these commonwealths from time to time. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle recently took a world tour to several of the family’s commonwealths, including New Zealand. The queen has also visited many places throughout her years and has experienced all of the different commonwealth’s cultures. The family may have settled in the U.K., but their reign is heard around the world. It’s unlikely any person or family will ever surpass them in land ownership.
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