The British Royal Family's Net Worth Is Hard To Calculate. Here's Why

News of Queen Elizabeth II's passing in early September of 2022 made headlines around the world. The Queen, who was 96 years old at her time of death, had been a staple of the British Monarchy for most people's lives up until that point, and in her place, her oldest son King Charles III has since taken the throne. The British royal family, otherwise known as the Windsors, has been the cause for plenty of controversies throughout the years, including allegations of racism, infidelity, and Prince Andrew's close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, to name a few. However, while public scandals amongst the royal family have been widely covered, there is one matter regarding the Monarchy that is rather difficult to ascertain: its total net worth.

While calculating your personal net worth is not incredibly difficult to figure out for obvious reasons, gauging the total wealth of the British Monarchy, on the other hand, is. From the lavish Buckingham palace where they reside, to jewelry, cars, other real estate, and more, it's without a doubt that the Windsors are in possession of an abundance of wealth. But exactly how much wealth that is has been a topic of much debate throughout the years. That being said, let's take a look at why exactly the British royal family's net worth is so hard to calculate.

The British royal family are rumored to be so wealthy that their money machine has actually been given its own name, otherwise known as "The Firm." However, as much of the information regarding The Firm has been kept private, specific details about exactly how much the family is worth in total is not the easiest thing to figure out. That being said, let's explore the public information that does exist in order to get a better idea of how much money the Crown is actually in possession of.

The British royal family has been around for roughly 1,200 years, with various different Kings and Queens having been in power during that time frame. Seeing as they've been around for several centuries, it's not too far-fetched to assume their total net worth is somewhere in the deca-billions. Queen Elizabeth II alone, upon her passing, had a personal fortune separate from the family that was estimated to be as much as $500 million, which has since been inherited by her son, the newly anointed King Charles III. However, according to the Guardian, the King himself's net worth, after receiving his inheritance, rose to somewhere in the range of $2 billion. However, these are just two Monarchs amongst a total of 63 that have ruled throughout the course of history, so they surely have to have more money than a measly $2 billion, right?

According to Forbes, The Firm is rumored to be worth somewhere in the range of a $28 billion. But how exactly did Forbes come across this number, and what different assets is it composed of? Well, The Firm includes the aforementioned individual wealth of King Charles and Queen Elizabeth, the rest of their rather large family (Prince William, his wife Kate Middleton, Prince Edward, his wife, and so on) and a copious amount of jewelry, real estate, artwork, cars, and more. The biggest chunk of their wealth, however, comes mainly from the family's real estate holdings, which include seven different properties such as the notorious Buckingham Palace (worth $5 billion), Balmoral Castle ($140 million), the Duchy of Cornwall (worth $32 million), and more.

Outside of this, the family's jewelry collection, called "The Crown Jewels" is estimated to be worth somewhere between $4 and $6 billion dollars, and has been accumulated over the last 800 years of the Monarchy's rule. The Royal family also has a luxurious collection of cars which is rumored to be valued at $17.6 million, and an artwork collection that's estimated to be worth as much as $10 billion. However, although the family obviously does have an absurd amount of wealth that they've amassed over many generations, how much money do they actually generate on a yearly basis? Better yet, due to modern rules and regulations, how much of that do they actually get to keep?

If you're in possession of as much wealth as the British Royal family, obviously there has to be some sort of entity that oversees and manages it, as no one person could adequately handle billions of dollars by themselves, nor would it be fun to do so. That being said, the institution that manages all the wealth and assets of the British Monarchy is called "The Crown Estate."

By the end of 2022 alone, The Crown Estate generated $410 million USD in revenue, and in 2020 it generated as much as $700 million. However, the family is only allowed to keep 25% of that money, in what is called a Sovereign Grant. The rest is given to the British government, or more specifically the British Treasury. It's also worth noting that as far as the worth of all its luxurious properties goes, seeing as all of it has been passed down throughout generations, and thus has not been bought or sold to any outside parties, it is hard to put a definitive price tag on it. This being the case, the aforementioned values of places like Buckingham Palace are instead only estimations, nothing set in stone. The same is also true for things like The Crown Jewels and the royal family's fleet of vehicles as well.