Whoa! Prince William Just Inherited A BILLION Dollars?!

Prince William’s fortune just rose!!

For the most part, the royal family’s wealth remains a mystery and probably always will. We know they have money — but how much exactly??

Over the years, financial experts have done some digging to determine estimates of each family member’s fortune based on well-documented accounts of their personal collections and inherited properties. And although royal wills aren’t made public, the changing of their titles coincides with an expensive transition of wealth!

For reference, per Forbes last year, Queen Elizabeth’s personal fortune was worth $500 million, including jewels, an art collection, investments, and two residences (Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House, both of which she inherited from her father, King George VI). Now we don’t know what will become of her wealth, but following Queen Elizabeth II’s death, Prince William and King Charles III are set to inherit some very pricy assets!

According to CNN Business on Wednesday, properties make up most of the royal wealth, worth at least $21 billion in land, property, and investments. And it’s all going to the new monarch and his heir!

William, who is now first in line to the throne and currently holds the titles Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Cambridge — with the Prince of Wales title to be officially bestowed on him in the future — has inherited the private Duchy of Cornwall estate once owned by his father. The price tag?

An estimated $1.2 billion!!

The estate was created in 1337 by King Edward III and is worth just over a billion bucks these days, per financial records last year. The property stretches across 140,000 acres in southwest England. According to its website, revenue earned from the estate is “used to fund the public, private, and charitable events” of the Duke of Cornwall, which is now William. Last year, King Charles reportedly paid himself $25 million from the Duchy of Cornwall estate. Good work if you can get it, we guess… So yeah, William has some cash to look forward to, too!

But don’t worry, Charles probably wasn’t too sad to give up the property. As the new King, he now inherits the Crown Estate — valued at $19 billion! But he’s not getting all of this in his wallet. He’s actually required to hand over all estate profits to the government in exchange for a portion known as the Sovereign Grant, used to pay staff and manage properties. This comes from an arrangement established way back in 1760. The Crown Estate has the status of a corporation and generated a net profit of almost $361 million last year! The UK Treasury paid the Queen back $100 million. Wow!

King Charles also earns himself the Duchy of Lancaster estate, valued at $764 million, per CNN. The place was created in 1265. Income from this property helps offset the official costs not met by the Sovereign Grant and supports other royal family members. Innerestingly, unlike the Crown Estate, both duchies are considered private estates meaning Charles and William aren’t required to pay taxes or give details on the properties beyond reporting their income. With that in mind, CNN notes both duchies have voluntarily paid income tax since 1993.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Government website notes the King may only spend the Sovereign Grant on royal duties — and neither he nor the Queen Consort Camilla can benefit from the sale of assets in their duchies. Any profit from a potential sale would be reinvested back into the estate. A lot of guidelines for these inheritances!

William hasn’t addressed the switch-up in properties, yet. He’s been busy mourning at the Queen’s remembrance ceremonies. Earlier on Wednesday, the Duke walked alongside his brother Prince Harry as the 96-year-old’s coffin was transported from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, where it will lay for five days, giving the public a chance to pay their respects before her funeral on September 19. No doubt all this change has created a very emotional time for the family, including those in the youngest generation. Thinking of them as they continue to grieve.

Thoughts on William’s new billion dollar property?

[Image via MEGA/WENN]