How rich is the Kingdom of Brunei?

Before the match with U22 Vietnam, Bukialsports newspaper published information that the Brunei Royal Family will give a bonus of 20 million Brunei dollars (equivalent to nearly 350 billion VND) if U22 Brunei draws with Vietnam in the first match of the king sport at SEA Games 30. This interesting information has made many Vietnamese fans overwhelmed by the amount of spending and raised the question: "How rich is the Kingdom of Brunei really?".

The Kingdom of Brunei is ranked 4th in the Top 25 richest countries in the world with a GDP per capita of 80,335 USD/year. In fact, the answer to the prosperity and wealth that this Kingdom has today is thanks to the huge oil and natural gas resources on the island of Borneo.

Brunei is located on the northern part of Borneo Island - the largest island in the world and also the only island in the world owned by three countries: Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia. It has an area of ​​only about 6,000 km²But fortunately, almost all of the oil reserves are concentrated in the territory under Brunei's sovereignty.

Since the discovery of oil and gas fields in 1929, the oil and gas industry has been a major part of Brunei’s economic balance, contributing over 90% of the country’s GDP. Located near the site of the first oil field discovered in the past, the Government erected a symbolic 1 billion barrel oil milestone when Brunei reached this memorable milestone in 1991.

Brunei is an absolute monarchy that has ruled the country for over 600 years and the 29th Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, is also one of the richest monarchs in the world.

Istana Nurul Iman Palace is the most splendid and luxuriously decorated in the world with a total cost of 1.4 billion USD, plus the entire interior of the palace is plated with gold and diamonds. As an architectural work with the function of being the residence and working place of the Royal Family, the palace is now considered the largest in the world and is recorded in the Guinness World Records.

Not only the residence, King Bolkiah himself was awarded the Guinness World Record for the largest Rolls Royce collection in 2011 with more than 500 cars and shares the Royal car collection with more than 5,000 cars. The King also bought a Boeing 747 for himself for 400 million USD and spent 120 million USD to renovate the interior, including a solid gold sink. It is worth mentioning that he once flew his Boeing 747 to Washington DC to discuss with President Obama about oil and gas cooperation and climate change.

His Sultanate is one of the most stable economies in the market. Because of his huge wealth, he has taken care of his subjects with a tax-free and free life. People in Brunei only need to prepare a registration form with a symbolic fee of 1 USD to be granted a house by the state and have full rights to use it for the rest of their lives.

In addition, all citizens are entitled to free education and do not have to pay any medical fees. If they graduate from high school and want to study abroad, the State will provide a scholarship to study abroad with the condition that after returning, they must work for the State for the same number of years they have studied abroad.

Regarding health, if a patient is seriously ill and cannot be treated at a local hospital, he or she will be transferred to Singapore for treatment. Hospital fees in Singapore will be paid by the Brunei government. In addition, they do not have to pay any income tax and the unemployment benefits in Brunei are also very high.

The palaces and churches are covered in gold and crystal, which are luxurious but for the people of Brunei, they are very normal. From mosques, palaces, museums and even 4-5 star hotels are covered with this expensive metal. Notably, the Jame Asr Hassanal Bolkiah Mosque uses 5 tons of gold to gild the dome and 29 minarets.

“Out of the orbit of all humanity” is what the late French Marshal De Gaulle once said about the Royal Family and the country of Brunei. However, in reality, many experts in Brunei believe that the natural energy resources are only enough to be exploited for about 25-30 years. Therefore, King Hassanal Bolkiah is calling on investors to come to Brunei to do business, invest in developing the agricultural and service industries...

My Tong