Ibrahim Iskandar, the owner of immense wealth worth more than Rs 47 lakh crore, has been elected the new king of the Islamic country Malaysia.
Ibrahim is also the Sultan of Johor state. They have so much wealth that anyone would be shocked to hear about it.
He has his own private army, more than 300 luxury cars and several jet planes. Ibrahim’s son Tunku Ismail Idris has also become a Captain rank officer in the Indian Army.
At the age of 65, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar of Johor has ascended the throne in Malaysia. The billionaire sultan was sworn in as the country’s 17th king on Wednesday under a transitional monarchy.
He had arrived in his private jet to take oath. Under the world’s only such system, the heads of nine royal families take turns becoming kings every five years since Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957.
Malaysia has 13 states and only nine have royal families. Sultan Nazrin, ruler of the state of Perak and next heir to the throne, was re-elected as Deputy King.
Where did such immense wealth come from?
Bloomberg reports that Ibrahim has an estimated net worth of $5.7 billion (Rs 47.33 lakh crore). Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar (65) took the oath of office at the palace.
He signed the key document related to the oath at a ceremony in the presence of other royals, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Cabinet members.
The coronation ceremony will be held later. One of the country’s richest men, Sultan Ibrahim has an extensive business empire ranging from real estate to telecommunications and power plants.
What rights will the king have?
Raja Ibrahim is also known as the ‘Yang di-Pertuan Agong’. The king plays a largely ceremonial role, as administrative power is vested in the Prime Minister and Parliament. The king only has the power to declare emergency and pardon criminals.
Sultan Ibrahim, Al-Sultan Abdullah will succeed Sultan Ahmed Shah. Sultan Ibrahim is known to be outspoken about welfare issues and takes road trips on his motorcycle to meet people in his kingdom.
Apart from a fleet of jet aircraft, Sultan Ibrahim also owns cars and motorcycles as well as considerable properties abroad.
His wife Zarith Sophia is from another royal family and is an Oxford graduate and a writer. Sophia has written many books for children. He has five sons and one daughter.
Son was a captain in Indian Army
Ibrahim’s son Tunku Ismail, like his late grandfather, had joined the Dehradun-based IMA as a cadet officer in July 2003.
He joined the Indian Army as a Lieutenant in December 2004. He was promoted to the rank of Captain in December 2007. His father and grandfather also trained at IMA.