The British Royal Family is a $28 billion business—but little goes to the monarchs themselves. Here’s a look inside the royal portfolio.
The House of Windsor’s most valuable holdings include the Crown Estate (worth $19.5 billion), which oversees the monarchy’s assets, and Buckingham Palace (estimated at $4.9 billion).
The Crown Estate pulled in more than $700 million the year before the pandemic, with roughly $475 million in profits.
25% of the Crown Estate’s earnings went to the royals for official expenses; the remaining 75% belongs to the British Treasury.
The private expenses of the royals are supported by another allowance, funded through the $748 million Duchy of Lancaster, which earned $30 million in 2020.
Though the family cannot sell their most lucrative assets, the Queen herself can draw from her $500 million in personal wealth—mostly investments, art, jewels and castles.
Another royal holding: The $1.3 billion Duchy of Cornwall, which supports Prince Charles, the Duke of Cornwall, who rents more than 130,000 acres of property.
The Duchy of Cornwall made $50 million last year, and more than half went to Prince Charles—notably more than his $2.5 million paycheck from the Crown Estate.
The Crown is also a moneymaking machine for the United Kingdom, putting billions into the economy with tourist attractions and lavish public celebrations.
But Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey has The Firm—as senior members of the royal family are known—on shaky ground.