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Britain\u2019s King Charles III\u2019s salary is fit for a, well, king. He stands to become even wealthier thanks to a massive rise in profit from the Crown Estate, a national $15.2 billion portfolio<\/a> of historical and commercial land holdings. The net revenue profit from the Crown Estate more than doubled this year to a record nearly $1.2 billion, a whopping $713 million increase from the year prior, according to an annual report<\/a> from the Crown Estate published Tuesday.<\/p>\n As a result, King Charles will get a $58 million pay raise in the form of a \u201cbumper profit.\u201d That means the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant, which supports the official duties of the British royal family, will increase by more than 50% from $93.6 million in 2024-2025 to $143.2 million during the following year. The pay raise will be allocated toward renovations to Buckingham Palace and other palace servicing, royal aids told The Guardian<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough King Charles won\u2019t directly pocket this money, it will go into a budget over which he has significant input, alongside key management and advisers,\u201d Alex King, a chartered accountant and founder of U.K.-based finance and economics platform Generation Money<\/a>, tells Fortune<\/em>. \u201cEssentially, the money will go towards paying for the monarch\u2019s official state business, including hosting foreign leaders, attending official engagements, and travel abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n The Crown Estate is just one part of the British royal family\u2019s $28 billion empire<\/a> that also includes vast real estate holdings across the United Kingdom, The Duchy of Cornwall, and The Duchy of Lancaster, the latter two of which generate private income for the monarch. The Crown Estate is owned by the British monarch, but is managed independently and its revenues are given to the government. However, the monarchy receives 12% of Crown Estate profits<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s an argument to be made that the royal family are the most important and influential people in all of England, other than the prime minister,\u201d Evan Nierman, founder and CEO of crisis PR firm Red Banyan<\/a>, previously told Fortune<\/em><\/a>. \u201cThese are not ordinary people. They control enormous assets of incalculable value.\u201d<\/p>\n On top of the royal family\u2019s properties, they also earn funding from the Sovereign Grant, which is used to fund the upkeep of their properties, pay staff, and cover the cost of other royal duties like speaking engagements and visits.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although the Crown Estate had a blockbuster year, that\u2019s not always the case\u2014but the royal family is protected from negative profit through a \u201cgolden ratchet\u201d clause. The U.K. government has guidance<\/a> in place ensuring that while funding for the monarchy could increase in tandem with Crown Estate profits, it\u2019s guaranteed to never fall. In other words, if Crown Estate profits drop, the Treasury must cover the shortfall to make sure the monarch gets paid at least the same as the previous year. The \u201cgolden ratchet\u201d clause has kicked in twice, according to The Guardian<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n However, the government is set to review how much the monarch is funded, including the Sovereign Grant, Generation Money\u2019s King says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere is likely to be significant pressure from the public to reduce the amount of profits given to the monarch, particularly as households have grappled with a cost-of-living crisis in recent years,\u201d King says.<\/p>\n It might come as a surprise\u2014at least to readers outside the U.K.\u2014that King Charles actually isn\u2019t the richest man in Britain. In fact, he only ranks No. 258 on the 2024 Sunday Times<\/em> Rich List<\/a>, which ranks the 1,000 wealthiest people or families who are U.K. residents. Still, he\u2019s worth about $772 million, which completely dwarfs the average U.K. salary<\/a> of about $46,000. King Charles\u2019 net worth is also significantly higher than that of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, whose net worth<\/a> was estimated at about $470 million in 2022.<\/p>\n King Charles\u2019 most valuable assets are the Sandringham<\/a> and Balmoral estates, both of which are used as residences by the royal family. Sandringham is a 20,000 acre estate in the eastern part of the country and is estimated to be worth $315 million, according to The Sunday Times. <\/em>Balmoral, the Scottish home of the royal family, includes the Aberdeenshire castle and 50,000 acres of land. It\u2019s worth an estimated $265 million, also according to The Times.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n King Charles also earned a pretty penny in his divorce settlement from the late Princess Diana, receiving $22.5 million. He also saved money from profits made by the Duchy of Cornwall, which generates income by renting out its land properties and investing in other assets.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Crown Estate is one of the largest property managers in the U.K., and during the past year its commercial property portfolio outperformed its benchmark by two percentage points \u201cas occupancy rates and rental values across its portfolio showed signs of recovery,\u201d according to the Crown Estate report<\/a>.<\/p>\n\nHow much is King Charles worth?<\/h2>\n
Why did the Crown Estate make so much money this year?<\/h2>\n