Wealth and Finances of the Spanish Royal Family


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Mari_* said:
Apparently he is worth that much, I've seen an article on that. It says he's the third richest monarch. The 1st is the prince of Liechstenstein, sorry don't remember the 2nd, I think is Queen Elizabeth, and the third is King JC, I think there's also a video in the forum about JC's fortune, I read that he might have invested -among many other things-, in oil.
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Really? I always thought the Spanish monarch is among the "poorest" of all the monarchs. Of course when I say "poor" it means he doesn't reach the caliber of the Liechtentein royal. Last time I visited Forbe's website on the list of the most richest royals the Middle Eastern royal families rank first followed by the Liechtentein RF, Dutch monarch, QEII and I'm very sure that KJC is not on the list. Or is it because the magazine does not discover the real fortune of the Spanish King :rolleyes::D...
 
lula said:
I am going to try to explain it to you. I believe that this number refers what the Spanish State gives every year to the King for the expenses of the Headquarters of the State, it is not a money that of to the King but with he has to support the expenses of the Royal Family (in Spain the Royal Family only they are the Kings, the Princes and the Infantas, and they are those who develop official activities),and also the persons who are employed at the House of the King.

I imagine that the King has a personal wealth, with something that he could have inherited and that he has hoarded in the last 30 years, but he cannot be not much less comparable to the wealths of other monarchies. The family of the King lived in the exile for a long time, and when they went away they did not take to themselves almost anything, lived in a humble enough way to be members of the royalty (that enclosed the Queen Victoria Eugenia had to use some of her jewels.)
All the palaces that pertenecian to the monarchy form a part of an institution that is called A National wealth, the Royal Family can enjoy them but they are not of their property. National wealth takes charge of the expenses of the palaces (as the Zarzuela or the House of the Prince), the rest of palaces scarcely are in use (the Real Palace in the big receipts and the palace of el Pardo one like residence of foreign Chiefs of state when they are in Spain), but many of them can be visited as museums
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Please Let me correct you. The Spanish royal family receives per year about 8 m €. This is for personal use as the different ministries and the royal patrimony are in charge of the palaces and costs of maintenance, security, transport, their activities (holidays and representative trips)...
i.e. the ministry of defense covers security, transport and their secretaries that used to be in the military.(Letizia uses 5 bodyguards and one protocol expert and so Felipe with two.).

Then the personal fortune of the king has been calculated as of 1.790m€, he inherited about 2m€ because his family was in exile, their living costs paid by aristocrats. He is probably allowed to make business hence his personal fortune and he is friends with the mayor bankers. The 'infantas' have their own jobs but they receive an assignation of about 2m€ per year.
 
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Spanish Royal Family Finances

How is the Spanish Royal Family financed? I assume that they receive a salary from the State and that they receive grants to cover the costs of doing their jobs. I would also assume that their homes are owned by the State, too. Is this correct? Do they have independent wealth?
 
Yes, it´s correct: Royal Family receives an annual assignment of Gobern, and at the moment it´s E8´2 millions-although it´s more than last year-.They use this money for their personal spendings and their residence maintenance.And the royal residences, as you said, don´t belong to the king, they are State´s property.
But King Juan Carlos also has got his own wealth: he has got personal bussiness.
According to Forbes, he is one of the richest headstates.
 
ANNIE_S said:
King Juan Carlos also has got his own wealth: he has got personal bussiness.
According to Forbes, he is one of the richest headstates.
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Really? I thought the Spanish royals were not that wealthy.
 
I found this article, but it´s old (from 2003)
And I´m sorry, he isn´t so rich as I said before, he is the sixth richest monarch of Europe-although I think that it´s a very, very good place, he even has got much money :whistling:....
IBLNEWS.COM
 
King Juan Carlos' wealth is a very controversial issue in Spain. Juan Carlos got very very wealthy very fast after becoming King of Spain. A number of sources state that the King's wealth exceeds the billion USD by far.

The problem is that Spain's Constitution makes the King "untouchable" and people willing to investigate the issue can be criminally indicted for trying to defamate the King. Freedom of speech and information is very limited in Spain when it comes to investigate the King's finances.

Controversial "close friends" who allegedly contributed to the King's wealth are Mark Rich (who swiftly received a Spanish passport/citizenship), Kings of Arab Countries, Spanish bankers and other businessmen.

Those of you who understand Spanish can take a look at the following:

YouTube - Como hizo su fortuna Juan Carlos I de España

If this monarchy is expected to last after the King's death there are a few issues that should be clarified.
 
Annual Budget for the Spanish Royal Household

Greetings everyone!


I am doing a report for Wiki on the Spanish monarchy, and I have come to the portion on the cost of the monarchy. I have found, via the Royal Household website that the annual budget granted to the king for finacing the royal family is about 9 million, which goes towards paying senior household staff, financing events, running their offices, also it goes towards maintaining the royal family... which I take to mean also groceries, clothing, educational expenses (children).

But what I don't have is the cost altogether, In the BBC I have found that the cost for the UK Royal Family is about 40 million, thats all costs together including events, and maintaining palaces and the like.

Does anyone else have any resources they may plunder? I am chiefly looking for news articals that I may cite or some other verifyable source.


Any assistance you may offer is greatly appreciated!
 
I posted weeks ago in a thread called Wealth and Finances a long post about this, but I don't remember if there was anything about their global cost. I've read the real and complete cost is 25 millions €, but they are just estimations that can't be trusted. For example, this figure(25millions) was given in a british article dealing with Juan Carlos' wealth but they weren't accurate in other, easy to check points. For example, any palace the King uses in different areas of Spain belong to the Spanish state and this article wrote that they were actually Juan Carlos property.
 
Well, I quite understand if they decreased the budget of the SRF next year. Spain continues to have the highest unemployment rate in Europe.
 
donnaK said:
The budget is not only for personal spending money, money is needed to organize acts, security needs money, thus the SRF can't have as many acts as they want. On the persoanl money, Felipe's grandparents were in exile, except for some jewels, I don't think he inherited any substantial cash or property from them.
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I've moved my response to this thread since I dont believe that the spending part is correct. The allowance that JC receives from the State (around 8 Mio. Euros) is for personal use ONLY. The way he choses to spend it is completely out of taxpayers' eyes because everything concerning the SRF's events and way of life, like houses, cars, security, is either picked up by National Patrimony or the State (various ministries).

While its common knowledge that JC is very, very wealthy or at least got it through his connections, we cant say for sure about Felipe but its very likely that he can afford a very high standard of life for himself and his family, not to mention all the freebees and gifts people like royals usually receive for advertisement and promotion, clothes, bags, cars etc.
 
Duke of Marmalade said:
I've moved my response to this thread since I dont believe that the spending part is correct. The allowance that JC receives from the State (around 8 Mio. Euros) is for personal use ONLY. The way he choses to spend it is completely out of taxpayers' eyes because everything concerning the SRF's events and way of life, like houses, cars, security, is either picked up by National Patrimony or the State (various ministries).

While its common knowledge that JC is very, very wealthy or at least got it through his connections, we cant say for sure about Felipe but its very likely that he can afford a very high standard of life for himself and his family, not to mention all the freebees and gifts people like royals usually receive for advertisement and promotion, clothes, bags, cars etc.
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Absolutely not, that's completely wrong:

"By means of this annual sum, H.M. The King’s Household responds to its most direct financial obligations that are not the responsibility of other State bodies. Such obligations include (1): salaries, social security contributions and social provisions for senior management, management and non-civil servant staff for which the Royal Household is responsible; day-to-day operative costs, such as office materials; certain supplies; protocol and representation expenses (e.g., luncheons, dinners and receptions); transport and board and accommodation expenses; the acquisition of miscellaneous materials for the functioning of different offices within the Royal Household, etc"

They don't pay for their security, official vehicles and upkeep of the state-owned palaces:

"Likewise, H.M. The King’s Household is no exception from other Constitutional bodies and Ministries in that its security expenses are met by the Interior Ministry, while those concerning official vehicles and their drivers correspond to the State Transport Service (Ministry of Economy and Finance). La Zarzuela Palace and other Royal Sites are property of the State. Their maintenance and upkeep correspond, by law, to the autonomous agency Patrimonio Nacional (National Heritage). Regarding the management and administration of the annual budget of H.M. The King’s Household, the normal procedures of the State Administration are followed.
Furthermore, regarding labour and taxation matters, the Royal Household is fully subject to current legislation. "
 
AnaC said:
Absolutely not, that's completely wrong:

"By means of this annual sum, H.M. The King’s Household responds to its most direct financial obligations that are not the responsibility of other State bodies. Such obligations include (1): salaries, social security contributions and social provisions for senior management, management and non-civil servant staff for which the Royal Household is responsible; day-to-day operative costs, such as office materials; certain supplies; protocol and representation expenses (e.g., luncheons, dinners and receptions); transport and board and accommodation expenses; the acquisition of miscellaneous materials for the functioning of different offices within the Royal Household, etc"

They don't pay for their security, official vehicles and upkeep of the state-owned palaces:

"Likewise, H.M. The King’s Household is no exception from other Constitutional bodies and Ministries in that its security expenses are met by the Interior Ministry, while those concerning official vehicles and their drivers correspond to the State Transport Service (Ministry of Economy and Finance). La Zarzuela Palace and other Royal Sites are property of the State. Their maintenance and upkeep correspond, by law, to the autonomous agency Patrimonio Nacional (National Heritage). Regarding the management and administration of the annual budget of H.M. The King’s Household, the normal procedures of the State Administration are followed.
Furthermore, regarding labour and taxation matters, the Royal Household is fully subject to current legislation. "
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Thanks for pointing out. So JC pays for his household that is further explained on casareal:
The Royal Household of His Majesty the King_ Welcome

Other than that, there is no information on how he distributes the money and what is being done with it and his allowance is not subject to the Court of Auditors. One could think, that JC is rich enough to pay for a treadmill to keep him healthy but still he asked the National Patrimony to pay for the fitness equipment since it was part of Zarzuela maintainance ;)

Patrimonio le compra al Rey una ‘exclusiva’ cinta mecánica por 14.000 euros - elConfidencial.com
 
Duke of Marmalade said:
Thanks for pointing out. So JC pays for his household that is further explained on casareal:
The Royal Household of His Majesty the King_ Welcome

Other than that, there is no information on how he distributes the money and what is being done with it and his allowance is not subject to the Court of Auditors. One could think, that JC is rich enough to pay for a treadmill to keep him healthy but still he asked the National Patrimony to pay for the fitness equipment since it was part of Zarzuela maintainance ;)

Patrimonio le compra al Rey una ‘exclusiva’ cinta mecánica por 14.000 euros - elConfidencial.com
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Yes, he distributes the money however he likes, however :

"As occurs with other Constitutional bodies such as the Congress and the Senate, and in other countries in our context — both monarchies and republics — the overall budget assignation to H.M. The King’s Household is not subject to examination by the Court of Auditors.
Nevertheless, H.M. The King’s Household does have a Comptroller, a career staff member belonging to the Corps of Comptrollers and Auditors of the State Administration, appointed by Royal Decree, who performs his/her tasks in accordance with the general criteria and techniques established by the Comptroller General’s Office."

Did we find out the thruth about the threadmill? I remember a republican deputy was going to ask that question to the goverment at the Congress.
Regarding JC's wealth, while I have no doubt it has increased from what they had at the begining of his reign, it's only speculation, nobody has a real idea.
 
Budget of the House of the King

Casa de Su Majestad el Rey de España

Google Traductor

For the first time they made public how the budget is distributed.

Budget for the year 2011, 8,434,280.00 euros

Royal Family: 814,128 €

HM the King: endowment amounts to 140,519 € and representation expenses 152,233 €

Prince of Asturias: endowment amounts to 70,259 € and representation expenses 76,117 €

Queen, Princess of Asturias and Infantas Elena and Cristina: representation expenses 375,000 €

Personnel expenses: 4,039,000 €
Current expenditure on goods and services: 3,275,000 €
Contingency Fund: 206,152 €
Real investments: 100,000 €.​
 
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lula said:
You must deduce 40 % of taxes, so the final amount is greatly reduced.
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As far as I know, most of JC's peers pay taxes, there is no difference. JC is on par with Obama's salary of 400.000 USD, who pays taxes too, so not bad at all.

I guess Felipe's salary is pretty low compared to HIS peers.

In a republic, the public only pays for the HoS and not for family members so Felipe's salary and the Letizia/Infanta pool comes on top.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...ily-cut-budget-for-first-time-in-history.html
The article includes a comparison what other RFs get.
 
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I don't think Denmark's royals pay taxes and they are reimbursed for VAT.

Do the Spanish Royal family have inherited wealth?
 
Hm, this really does not sound much to me - especially if you have to pay taxes. So I never ever want to claim again, that Letizia is wearing Zara for daytime fashion -- she simply has to do it to get a balance in her spendings.....
BYe Bine
 
The cost does not reflect revenues that a royal family generates either.


Compared to other monarchies Spain is cheap. Liechtenstein is cheapest at free, followed by Luxembourg for cost and bang for bucks (could find exact numbers), Monaco is probably cheap except the wedding, Belgium is 28 million, Norway is 14.5 million and I suspect Sweden is similar. The UK is 40 million but the revenues from the royal wedding paid for itself plus the crown lands generate 260 million per year for the UK. The British monarchy costs Canada more per year via her representation (with mininum revenues) and the Dutch is almost 40 million while the Danish monarchy costs more too. This is also all before tax.


The ones that probably cost alot are African and Asian ones. Morocco once revealed he cost of it's monarchy - 300 million per year - and never again. Others do not reveal this info.


But compared to Presidential families is also telling - I read France pays out about 100 million per year, I believe Germany was way less but more than a monarchy, and for sure the US and Russia would spend more than France. One place figured the US was 10 times the UK but no info.
 
DMR412 said:
Do the Spanish Royal family have inherited wealth?
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There is a separate thread for this topic but yes, they are wealthy. Not so much by heritage but rather by gathering during reign.

http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/f21/wealth-of-the-spanish-royals-7050.html

I believe Sofia is financially independent from JC and despite his considerable low income, Felipe wont be struggling either.

The SRF have lots of hidden assets and have looked after them very well in that respect through connections, business relations etc (especially JC has been very shrewd over the years or decades in that respect) therefore the family has always been well aware that showing off is not a good idea as long as the monarchy remains fragile.

JC will hate Inaki the moron for the disservice he has done to the institution and the individuals of the SRF, forcing them to open up.
 
Duke of Marmalade said:
There is a separate thread for this topic but yes, they are wealthy. Not so much by heritage but rather by gathering during reign.

http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/f21/wealth-of-the-spanish-royals-7050.html

I believe Sofia is financially independent from JC and despite his considerable low income, Felipe wont be struggling either.

The SRF have lots of hidden assets and have looked after them very well in that respect through connections, business relations etc (especially JC has been very shrewd over the years or decades in that respect) therefore the family has always been well aware that showing off is not a good idea as long as the monarchy remains fragile.

JC will hate Inaki the moron for the disservice he has done to the institution and the individuals of the SRF, forcing them to open up.
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I certainly hope they have personal wealth. These salaries are MIDDLE middle class salaries.
 
Duke of Marmalade said:
Crisis: Spain, Rajoy also cuts King Juan Carlos' cheque by 2 - Spain - ANSAMed.it

Its not much compared to what other institutions have to take in, especially when keeping in mind that the Palma couple wont do any activities until further notice and that Elena's activities have been reduced to a minimum.
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The Royal Family has a very small budget, compared with other institutions,so the cut is proportional. The ministries have budgets of more than one billion euros, the House of the King only receives 8 million euros, so the comparison is quite absurd.
 
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