All the things to know about the wealth of Queen Elizabeth II and the inheritance of her son, King Charles III

Updated on September 10, 2022 17:48 PM by Sally Harbor

The longest reigning monarch of the royal family, Queen Elizabeth II, passed away peacefully at 96 at her castle in Balmoral. Still, her death involves not only the transfer of the crown to her first son, now officially King Charles III, but also a shift of her wealth and the ownership in trust of massive assets that range from iconic castles to the Crown Jewels of the royal family.

The reign of Queen Elizabeth II’s wealth increased highly when new businesses sprang up in the decades after World War II. But much of her wealth comes from tangible assets that have not been exactly appreciated, like that of the companies Microsoft and Amazon, which have soared 240,000% and 146,000%, respectively, since their IPOs.

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This is also a reason why the Queen’s fortune is relatively modest when compared to tech moguls like that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, whose total wealth comes down to $115 billion, or that of the CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, which is worth $153 million.

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But even with all of this, Queen Elizabeth’s 70-year-long reigning helped in bringing together the British monarch’s brand, which was around $78 million in 2017 and now is even more.

This also includes tangible assets such as Buckingham Palace, as well as the monarchy's intangible value of its brand, which boosts tourism to Britain and sales of products that carry a Royal Warrant or a Coat of Arms.

There is much more to Queen Elizabeth II’s death and her son inheriting the throne, at least more than we think.

So here are the five most important things to know about her wealth, assets, and inheritance.

Her net worth was $500 million

Yes, you heard it right; the former queen’s net worth was $500 million. Her fortune comes from her ownership of art, jewels, investments, and, real estate, which includes Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where she passed away on Thursday, and the Sandringham House in England.

Both of these assets together hold a value of $500 million. It is now reported that these assets will be inherited by her son and the King of the reign, King Charles III.

There is no inheritance for the king

Death and taxes are two things that one cannot escape. But that is not the case for the UK’s King, as at least the latter does not apply to him. The new monarch is exempt by the law from one major tax aimed at the wealthy upon inheritance which is the estate tax.

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It is reported that the nation’s sovereign is exempt from inheritance taxes. Because of that, King Charles III won’t face the 40% inheritance tax applied in the UK, which otherwise would have eaten up about $200 million of his mother's estate.

The Crown Estate is $34.3 billion in assets

The Crown Estate will now be passed on to Queen Elizabeth II’s son, King Charles III. But the tea here is that the estate will not be considered his private property because it is held in trust, meaning he cannot sell the asset.

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The Crown Estate owns assets and real estate that lands up to a total value of $34.3 billion, according to a report. Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, and all the land and properties across London and the U.K come under the assets owned by the Crown Estate.

The massive management company is overseen by an independent organization rather than members of the royal family, with surplus revenue paid to the U.K.'s Treasury each year.

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Even though the new King does not have the right to dispose of the assets owned by the Crown Estate for his personal use, the royal family still enjoys a financial windfall stemming from its holdings. And according to the website of the royal family, 15% of the profits from the Crown Estate go to the royal family.

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The Crown Estate earned a profit of $311 million in its most recent year, which means about $47 million went to the royal family.

The Dutch of $24 million owned by King Charles III

Before inheriting the throne, King Charles III, held the role of Duke of Cornwall, which gave him the management of the Duchy of Cornwall. The role of the Duchy is held by the person who is heir to the throne, which means the duchy will now be passed to Charles' eldest son, Prince William.

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The Duchy of Cornwall consists of more than 130,000 acres of land, which is worth $1.3 billion. But as per the rules of the Crown Estate, King Charles III was not permitted to sell the land, although he could collect revenue by renting the property to farmers, businesses, and residents.

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According to the website of the Prince of Wales, King Charles earned up to $24 million a year through the Duchy.

The Biscuit Business

King Charles, in 1990, started a food business called Duchy Organics to sell organic food products, an unusual idea at the time.

The food company partnered with the grocery chain Waitrose in 2010 and has since contributed more than $35 million to The Prince of Wales's Charitable Fund.

The food business operates separately from the Duchy of Cornwall, and all profits go to charitable causes, according to the Prince of Wales' website. The products sold under the line at Waitrose range from organic free-range eggs to organic Highland all-butter shortbread.