Jordanian Royal Family and Money

[zento]

Late King Hussein's Fortune

sorry for my english..

Haya married that sheik because obviously she didn't inherit enough money ,at least not sufficient amount that would allow her to go wild(though i don't see how she can do that next to that old man either)...
so i have a conclusion to make,late KHussein was not worth that much money after all ,some ppl said he was worth 500 million,...gimme a break,
he prolly wasn't even worth 50 million$, if you split that to 14 kids, wife and give Abdullah being a king some extra more,each child would get around 2 million...
and obviously that's the case and that's why Noor sold Potomac and that just isn't enough for Haya to buy some new expensive toys such as horses an stuff.
I mean if she inherited around 7 million that would be enough and she'd never marry that old dude..but she didn't and so it seems Hussein wasn't that rich after all

oh ,and i don't buy that story ::..he left most of it to QNoor ,lol no way she was only his wife,kids always come first i'm sure he was fair..
:flower:

 

[silver charm]

zento-good points.

also in qnoor's book she states that khussein had to go ask fellow monarchs for cash to keep his family & country afloat. actually if i remember correctly, their precarious financial situation is mentioned quite a few times in her book. and there are the now infamous payments from the CIA.

also it is highly doubtful that khussein was worth 500million at the time of his death. that would have been 5yrs ago and that kind of estate would definately make international money news.

and if they had that kind of cash-the interest on the cash alone would be more than able to pay for some of the maintenance of the royal family and various projects elminating the need for khussein to go panhandling.

 

[houri]

every one know that the family of Hashimy not very rich and maybe I understand why Haya married sheik mohammed but I don't understand why he married her don't say because she beautiful woman there are a lot of beautiful women and in half of her age and don't think because she princess loves horses because there are a lot of princesses loves horses .
and about he love her I don't know about that but maybe !!!!

 

[shy]

Originally posted by houri@Jun 23rd, 2004 - 12:56 am
every one know that the family of Hashimy not very rich and maybe I understand why Haya married sheik mohammed but I don't understand why he married her don't say because she beautiful woman there are a lot of beautiful women and in half of her age and don't think because she princess loves horses because there are a lot of princesses loves horses .
and about he love her I don't know about that but maybe !!!!

who said that the JRF is not rich. KH's estimate fortune before he died, reached up 2 $500m!. As for queen rania's earnings, she gets around $200,000,00 annually!
Its true that jordan is a poor country, some mite consider it 2b bcoz it does not have oil as its main resource, but that does not mean that the royal family is poor, how can they be if they are ferinds with the US.

 

[Humble]

History said how Jordan was created and why....
Jordan relies MAINLY on foreign aid to sustain the reason for which the country was created in the first place...

 

[Banadoora]

Originally posted by silver charm@Jun 22nd, 2004 - 10:05 pm
also in qnoor's book she states that khussein had to go ask fellow monarchs for cash to keep his family & country afloat.

The borrowed money wasn't for his family. It was for his country.

Also, Haya's marrying a rich man doesn't make her family poor. I'm sure she was well taken care of before she got married. She had her own stables in a few European counties.

 

[zento]

Originally posted by Banadoora+Jun 23rd, 2004 - 2:30 pm--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Banadoora @ Jun 23rd, 2004 - 2:30 pm)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-silver charm@Jun 22nd, 2004 - 10:05 pm
also in qnoor's book she states that khussein had to go ask fellow monarchs for cash to keep his family & country afloat.

The borrowed money wasn't for his family. It was for his country.

Also, Haya's marrying a rich man doesn't make her family poor. I'm sure she was well taken care of before she got married. She had her own stables in a few European counties. [/b][/quote]
i don't think Khussein was poor,he was obviously very rich but not as some pll stated before.
.. and he has many children, so if you split that even,for someone with a big appetite it's not sufficient

 

[Lalla Meriem]

King Hussein had 12 children not 14.

1. Alia
2. Abduallah
3. Faisal
4. Zein
5. Aisha
6. Ali
7. Haya
8. Abeer
9. Hamzah
10. Hashim
11. Iman
12. Raiyah

Queen Noor said that The Sultan of Brunei purchased, at least, one of their many homes for them. They weren't super wealthy.

 

[papillon]

This is from the October 2000 issue of "Washington Life Magazine." The Washington estate was part of a family trust, so who really knows which family members got how much?

by Susanna Monroney Luddy

In a very quiet real estate negotiation, the Potomac River-front property of Queen Noor and the late King Hussein of Jordan has reportedly gone under contract for $7.5 million to a young dot.com family, who prefer not to be named.

Also on the over-12- acre property is another home, which was used as a residence for the royal family's staff. It is currently on the market for $1.2 million. Sitting on two acres of the property, the French chateau-style home has nine bedrooms and seven bathrooms.

Interestingly, the main house was purchased in 1984 for $1,799,800, and the guesthouse was purchased in 1992 for $1,050,000. The extensive security system certainly accounts for some of the appreciation.

Apparently, their 60-acre estate in England has also been put on the market. Next to the British royal family's Windsor Castle, it is listed at about $25 million. Queen Noor and King Hussein had celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary there, surrounded by many royals, plus stars like Harrison Ford.

 

[amina1]

From where can she get a $200,000 salary? From Jordanian people?

 

[Dreamcatchergrl]

I am pretty sure that compared to their oil rich neighbors like the Sultan of Brunei, the JRF is not considered wealthy. BUT their neighbors calculate their wealth in BILLIONS. I am sure that there are a few hundred million dollars lying around the JRF family trusts. Maybe QNoor did get a larger portion of the pie and the other children were left out in the cold, but they are clearly not hurting.

Haya does not need to get a job anymore. She's married to the sixth richest man on Earth. And I am very sure that she will be taking care of her siblings- Ali and Abeer.

Even though Abeer is adopted, she is part of the family. I have an adopted neice and she is as much part of our family as I am.

The article talks about family trusts. Most family trusts are iron clad and leave little room for legal shinanigans. For example, when Britain's Queen Mum died, she had established her $ fortune into trusts for her great grandchildren with a larger share going to Harry. Her properties seemed to have been divided amongst her grandchildren. Royal Lodge - Andrew. That scottish castle to Charles. Her jewlery and pictures went to her daughter with legacies to some of the female members of the Windsor clan. Hussein had alot of time to get his affairs in order. I am sure he took care of his children. I just hope he left a portion to his orphaned children -Ali, Abeer and Haya. If he did not, he was not the man I tyhought he was.

 

[Lalla Meriem]

Sixth richest? Are you sure I just checked the 100 richest for 2003 a few days ago on Forbes and Mo wasn't even given an honorable mention.

 

[rollin_keef]

In the Australian Womens Weekly, an article about the 10 most eligle bachleors. The issue is 18 months or more old. In it Crown Prince Hamzah was ranked 3rd and it said in it that due to the unstabiltiy of the ME, he could find his family without a throne and that his father left him $150 million US in a swiss bank account.

 

[zento]

Originally posted by rollin_keef@Jun 24th, 2004 - 7:43 pm
In the Australian Womens Weekly, an article about the 10 most eligle bachleors. The issue is 18 months or more old. In it Crown Prince Hamzah was ranked 3rd and it said in it that due to the unstabiltiy of the ME, he could find his family without a throne and that his father left him $150 million US in a swiss bank account.

yeah, well you know paper can take everything...as if Hamzah was something special.
He was just one of kids ,nothing more.
Maybe he was his favorite but he didn't live him more money than he did to others,otherwise that would make others feel less worthy and I'm sure he would never want them to feel that way.
Haya marrying that grandpa is a proof that KHussein wasn't really super wealthy.
I doubt he had 150 million in total,maybe but doubt it..left it exclusively to Hamzah,no way ,he was just one of 12 nothing more..

 

[papillon]

Originally posted by Dreamcatchergrl@Jun 24th, 2004 - 2:02 am
I am pretty sure that compared to their oil rich neighbors like the Sultan of Brunei, the JRF is not considered wealthy. BUT their neighbors calculate their wealth in BILLIONS. I am sure that there are a few hundred million dollars lying around the JRF family trusts. Maybe QNoor did get a larger portion of the pie and the other children were left out in the cold, but they are clearly not hurting.

I have no idea what the JRF is worth, but there were reports in reasonably credible publications in the US after KH's death that he left behind a fortune of up to US$1 billion, much of it in real estate and bank accounts in the US, Europe, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere. It seems high, but not altogether ridiculous when one considers how many gifts of housing he received, how long he was on the throne, how much access he had to aid money and kickbacks from international wheeling and dealing, and the like. If he left behind that large of an estate, it could very well be that CP Hamzah, as a favored son, is worth US$150 million.

At any rate, I don't think anyone's hurting in that family. They may have cash flow problems from time to time because they are so spend-happy, but I, for one, think they have more than tens of millions of dollars in net worth. They live pretty high on the hog considering the condition of the country over which they rule.

 

[zento]

Noor sold her home in Potomac ..
and they're selling another home in england..
why would anyone do that ,unless they're in serious need for money??

1 billion?? 150 million?? ,obviously few million matters a great deal to them since they're selling the property

 

[papillon]

Originally posted by zento@Jun 24th, 2004 - 11:29 pm
Noor sold her home in Potomac ..
and they're selling another home in england..
why would anyone do that ,unless they're in serious need for money??

1 billion?? 150 million?? ,obviously few million matters a great deal to them since they're selling the property

QN is no longer the wife of a head of state, so she doesn't have the staff she used to have to help her maintain and run the homes, and she also doesn't have responsibility for entertaining world leaders on a large scale any more. She doesn't have the access she once had to a private jet to travel between homes. And, also, her children have left the nest, so she doesn't need all the space. I don't find it necessarily unusual that she would want to unload some property at this stage of her life and under these circumstances. Just because she is selling property doesn't mean she is hurting financially. People sell property for all kinds of reasons, cash being just one.


Again, I don't know what the family's net worth is, but I think they are not sensitive to a few million dollars either way. That is probably small change to them. A few million isn't even an astronomical sum to a mid career working professional (e.g., lawyer, doctor, successful business person) living in a major metropolitan area with a high cost of living, so I doubt it is much to the JRF.

 

[maryshawn]

One member of a prominent Jordanian family said "how much was the King worth? Who know?" Yes, many of their homes were gifts, like the estate in England was a gift from the Queen of England. I do know KH's wives and children all say he was generous to a fault and would give money to people all the time. He'd be listening in the morning to a talk show and hear of a family in need and help them. Haya said once she was riding with her father on his motorcycle and a poor man approached them. KH had no money on him so he took off a very expensive watch and gave it to them. He was famous for buying homes, which proved unsuitable, and then giving them to his kids......He had many burdens but I admire the way he embraced life. He spent money and lots of it and who knows where it came from? I agree; QN--at first--I thought was making a mistake selling their lovely estate in Potomac and renting a house furnished with rented furniture but did she really need all that room and, who knows, she is so eager to raise funds for His Foundation and Hers, the monies may have gone to those causes. Grief is an odd thing we're not factoring in; perhaps England and Potomac were just too full of memories and she couldn't handle it and did what Jacqueline Kennedy did--made a break with the past and moved. No one is ever going to get to the bottom of how much they had although a former butler who ran their Jordanian household for a few years cited in an article in the Washingtonian their annual household budget was $15 million which he said seems like a lot until you factor in staffing, security, entertaining, suitable wardrobes, etc. Wherever he got the money and whomever benefitted, I think the King was a pragmatic, loving family man and would not bequeath an unreasonable amount to Noor and her children w/o providing similar bequests to his other children.....He also bought homes for all his ex wives.....and supported them.

 

[Dreamcatchergrl]

Sixth richest? Are you sure I just checked the 100 richest for 2003 a few days ago on Forbes and Mo wasn't even given an honorable mention.

mo hasn't been on the forbes list for quite some time. shk mak bin rashid was on a few years back. there is a special article on him on forbes though. under the title of 'visionaries' or something like that with a sub arctile about Shka Lubna.

The problem with the Forbes List is that they do not take into account certain assets and can be influenced by the people on the list. There are families especially royal families that object to being on this list.

The Dutch pursuaded Forbes to take them off the list by saying that their investments in various successful companies have been overstated.

The British royal family has said that various properties should be considered unsellable and therefore not be counted as assets.

These arguements are complete rubbish and serve as a smokescreen. Beatrix has a substantial investment in the Shell petroleum company. She is worth billions. The contents of the Windsor Library (including the largest collection of Davinci sketchings in the world) are private property yet are not included in the calculation of Elizabeth's net wealth. Not to mention the massive private collection of jewlery left EIIR by her grandmother. These jewels are not Crown property and rarely if ever seen and never factored into her net wealth.

Now when calculating private wealth, Forbes does not take into account the assets that are said the 'belong to the nation',even if the dejure owner is the ruler of that country.

The Mak's are notoriously private. Didn't someone here at LTR say that they will not do business with anyone that will blab their dealings to the press or outsiders? I am sure that Forbes and the Mak's have an agreement.

I read in a on-line paper recently that he was the sixth richest man. It could have been a British paper like the Independent.

 

[zento]

The estated would have been divided into equal shares with each son recieving an equal share that would be twice as much as the shares of the daughters (their shares were also to be equal) with Queen Noor inheriting the portion stipulated for widows.

that i so unfair..i can't believe they would follow Koran even in that aspect.

 

[Lalla Meriem]

When it was written you have to remember that men were expected to take care of their familes. Women were cared for even if they were wealthy.

It seems more fair than Noor's children getting a disproportionate percentage of it.

 

[zento]

is it the same case in other Arabic countries??
do women there also inherit twice amount less than men do??
I mean pure logic tells ppl that that is plain wrong..how is that even possible ,it's like a woman is not as worthy??
this info is pretty disturbing

 

[Humble]

Originally posted by zento@Jun 25th, 2004 - 11:13 am
is it the same case in other Arabic countries??
do women there also inherit twice amount less than men do??
I mean pure logic tells ppl that that is plain wrong..how is that even possible ,it's like a woman is not as worthy??
this info is pretty disturbing

I made a search about the status of women in Islam...

The link below talks about many aspects, among which the financial one and so you will understand why a woman gets 1/2 of man's share...

An excerpt of that section says:

" Her share in most cases is one-half the man's share, with no implication that she is worth half a man! It would seem grossly inconsistent after the overwhelming evidence of woman's equitable treatment in Islam, which was discussed in the preceding pages, to make such an inference. This variation in inheritance rights is only consistent with the variations in financial responsibilities of man and woman according to the Islamic Law. Man in Islam is fully responsible for the maintenance of his wife, his children, and in some cases of his needy relatives, especially the females. This responsibility is neither waived nor reduced because of his wife's wealth or because of her access to any personal income gained from work, rent, profit, or any other legal means.
Woman, on the other hand, is far more secure financially and is far less burdened with any claims on her possessions. Her possessions before marriage do not transfer to her husband and she even keeps her maiden name. She has no obligation to spend on her family out of such properties or out of her income after marriage. She is entitled to the "Mahr" which she takes from her husband at the time of marriage. If she is divorced, she may get an alimony from her ex-husband.

An examination of the inheritance law within the overall framework of the Islamic Law reveals not only justice but also an abundance of compassion for woman. "

The link can be found here: The Status of Women in Islam

Now, we have some understanding...

 

[zento]

thanks for the info!
It's not as bad as i thought it was,but twice time less than man is still a huge turn off..
i like the idea of equality between m&w in all aspects better,at least at paper ..in relity men still have better paid jobs an stuff.
:flower:

 

[Balqis]

I would watch what I say girls. Slander is a serious thing. To allude here and in other threads that aid from abroad is going into the private accounts of the Jordan Royal Family is a serious accusation. To accuse somone in the Arab world of stealing money is very offensive. If you have proof then that's another matter. Speculating in a totally unfounded way with no real evidence to back up what you say is very tricky.
The JRF have their own private wealth, accumulated way before King Abdullah II ascended to the throne. Most families in power in the Middle East have private wealth that has nothing to do with their country's wealth. Some flaunt their wealth in an extravagant way, some keep it very private. I think being descended from the Prophet Mohammed has given the Hashemites a profound sense of duty to the well-being of their subjects. It is part of their code of honour. To say that money meant for the poor is used to line their pockets, well what can I say? It's incredibly scandal-mongering, what a way to sling mud...

 

[Amoula]

I agree with what you have said, Sommone. Much clearer boundaries need to be set.

let me tell you something,I am a Jordanian and I consider myself loyal,but I found it so hard to stop people from spreading rumors about the RF,SOME poeple have this really bad image in their heads about them and If you are a Jordanian and living in Jordan you would understand what I mean..I tried for 5 years so far,people do believe rumors and they enjoy doing that,and I think the RF members are aware of the situation,they are famous and are very well known -let me say- all over the world,they were born famous and they have been raised on coping and ignoring the bad things they hear about their family (the lies they hear about them),they are human and they have feelings,I know for sure rumors can really affect their lives negatively,but they do realise at the ame time that there's nothing to be done to stop people from spreading rumors. people live to spread rumors i guess


Ps: Balqis,I really enjoyed reading you're posts,it's nice to have you here.

 

[matesha]

I think we do not have the same understanding of "Bashing"...What one considers bashing, another one would consider it opinion...In all cases, talking about how a public figure uses money and how he/she gets is and will always be controversial..Besides, royal members are not angels...and if they do not spend the money wisely or they exhibit lasish behaviors that we know they can't afford, then their pro- should not get upset...and then these royal members should not be upset either if they get harsh criticism...they choose to be a public figure..so they have to take the whole package with its good and bad sides....that is the price....Otherwise, show to your people how you are getting the money and how you are spending it (AUDIT)

 

[Balqis]

let me tell you something,I am a Jordanian and I consider myself loyal,but I found it so hard to stop people from spreading rumors about the RF,SOME poeple have this really bad image in their heads about them and If you are a Jordanian and living in Jordan you would understand what I mean..I tried for 5 years so far,people do believe rumors and they enjoy doing that,and I think the RF members are aware of the situation,they are famous and are very well known -let me say- all over the world,they were born famous and they have been raised on coping and ignoring the bad things they hear about their family (the lies they hear about them),they are human and they have feelings,I know for sure rumors can really affect their lives negatively,but they do realise at the ame time that there's nothing to be done to stop people from spreading rumors. people live to spread rumors i guess


Ps: Balqis,I really enjoyed reading you're posts,it's nice to have you here.

Thank you for that Amoula. It was nice to hear your post too. You've raised some good points.

The JRF has had to deal with horrible rumours for a long time, way before the internet came along. The kind of gossip they have been subjected to in the past (and still are of course) is done in private. This is a public forum where anyone can read what others post and what they say. That's the difference. I've seen individuals take for fact what is written and that is one of the things I object to. Opinions and people voicing their concerns is one thing. The trouble is some people can easily take it as truth and that is not right and fair. Maybe in future we should be VERY clear how we say things.

 

[Angie]

The bottom line to this topic is that we will agree to disagree.

 

[UFO Goddess]

I would watch what I say girls. Slander is a serious thing. To allude here and in other threads that aid from abroad is going into the private accounts of the Jordan Royal Family is a serious accusation. To accuse somone in the Arab world of stealing money is very offensive. If you have proof then that's another matter. Speculating in a totally unfounded way with no real evidence to back up what you say is very tricky.

Now there is someone with sense, finally! Reading these cranky hen-fests was starting to make me think that this board has nothing but nonsense in the place of true argument. You are absolutely right, Balqis- unless there is some kind of hard evidence, a real paper trail that is definitive, this type of slander is not just irresponsible, it is dangerous. But then again, some crass dolt sitting in America who resents the hell out of Queen Rania for purely selfihs, jealous, and petty reasons doesn't have to think or act responsibly. All these hens have to do is repeat an unfounded allegation enough times and they can convince many people that it "is" true. This technique of the Big Lie worked well for Hitler, why not for them?

The JRF have their own private wealth, accumulated way before King Abdullah II ascended to the throne. Most families in power in the Middle East have private wealth that has nothing to do with their country's wealth. Some flaunt their wealth in an extravagant way, some keep it very private. I think being descended from the Prophet Mohammed has given the Hashemites a profound sense of duty to the well-being of their subjects. It is part of their code of honour. To say that money meant for the poor is used to line their pockets, well what can I say? It's incredibly scandal-mongering, what a way to sling mud...

And it also shows the lack of truth in the minds of those who make such unfounded, unwarranted, and completely lame accusations. Just because Queen Rania wears the most beautiful clothes in the world doesn't mean that she is stealing aid money to do so. But if her beauty and grace make fill your mind with envy and anger, then of course, like those here on this board, you will attack her in any irresponsible way possible. And if you can get a hen-fest of likeminded dolts totgethe, well the entire thing can appear true even when it is nothing but a bunch of hot air.

In this entire thread about there isn't any evidence at all, at all, just a constant refrain of slanderous accusations that do nothing except make those who believe the allegations feel good about themselves.

The burden of proof is on the accuser. If someone wants to make allegations about JRF abusing aid funds, then they- the accusers- are the ones who need to present evidence to make the case. The accused or those who do not agree with the accuser are not the ones who need to supply evidence. This is the basis of "innocent until proven guilty".