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- The royal family of Monaco is headed by Prince Albert II and his wife of nine years, Princess Charlene.
- They rule over one of the wealthiest places in the world, where 32% of the population is made up of millionaires.
- The family, estimated to be richer than the Queen of England, attends ritzy galas with heads of state and Hollywood stars and goes on skiing holidays in Switzerland.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Monaco, a tiny city-state on the French Riviera, is one of the wealthiest nations in the world. A whopping 32% of the population is made up of millionaires.
Known as a "Billionaires’ Playground," Monaco is famous for its lavish wealth, casinos, and glamorous events such as the Monaco Yacht Show and the Monaco Grand Prix.
Ruling over this small yet rich city-state are the Grimaldis, the Monaco royal family headed by Prince Albert II, the son of Prince Rainier III and former actress Grace Kelly, who died in a car accident in 1982.
Prince Albert is worth an estimated $1 billion and reportedly owns about a quarter of the land he reigns over, making the Monaco royal family one of the wealthiest in the world. He married Charlene Wittstock, a former Olympic swimmer and teacher from South Africa, in 2011, and the couple shares two children. The prince also has two other children who were born out of wedlock.
Take a look at the lifestyle of the Monaco royal family.
The Monaco royal family rules over one of the smallest yet wealthiest nations in the world.
Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images
Prince Albert of Monaco is worth an estimated $1 billion and reportedly owns about a quarter of the land he reigns over, making the Monaco royal family one of the wealthiest in the world. For comparison, the Queen of England, Elizabeth II, is worth an estimated $500 million.
Prince Albert married Charlene Wittstock, a former Olympic swimmer and teacher from South Africa, in 2011, and the couple shares two children. The prince also has two other children who were born out of wedlock.
Approximately 32% of the Monaco population is made up of millionaires.
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The country is home to 12,261 millionaires in less than one square mile, and the number of millionaires increased by 12% between 2013 and 2018, according to the 2019 Knight Frank Wealth Report.
The official residence of the royal family is the Prince’s Palace of Monaco.
Shutterstock/Kirill Neiezhmakov
The palace, which was first built as a fortress in 1162, is guarded by a 98-man force made up of highly-trained French military men.
The state apartments are open to public visits for part of the year for 8 euros, or about $9.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- The 25 US suburbs where home values are growing the fastest, ranked
- A day in the life of a Christie’s auctioneer in New York City, who wakes up at 5:45 a.m., lives in Manhattan’s richest neighborhood, and says her job is like ‘conducting an orchestra’
- Giorgio Armani, one of the richest men in fashion, turns 85 today. Take a look at how the legendary designer spends his nearly $7 billion fortune, from a 213-foot yacht to homes in Italy, France, and the Caribbean
SEE ALSO: The 10 richest royal families in Europe, ranked
Source: Business Insider – kwarren@businessinsider.com (Katie Warren)