Thailand’s king has put the monarchy’s diverse investment portfolio into his own name in a move that’s causing mixed feelings.
Now that the royal house’s corporate and real estate assets are in King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s name, an estimated $30 billion holdings are now subject to tax, according to the Financial Times.
The Crown Property Bureau, which had previously been the entity behind all royal investments, had been exempt from taxes and asserted in the past that it holds royal wealth “in trust for the nation;” it’s unclear whether the recent change in nominal ownership includes farther-reaching shifts.
The monarch’s real estate holdings include large plots of land throughout Bangkok. King Maha Vajiralongkorn assumed the throne in 2016 after his father’s death. [FT] — Erin Hudson