Investing

Golden Toilets and Diamond-Encrusted Cars: What Oil Sheiks Spend a Fortune On

David Beren

Published: October 11, 2024 9:30 am

24/7 Insights

• • Middle Eastern billionaires are known for incredible displays of wealth. 
  • When money is no object, you buy whatever you want, whenever you want. 
  • Private jets, planes, and palaces are par for this course in the billionaire world. 
  • Also: 2 Dividend Legends to Hold Forever

For oil-rich Sheiks in the Middle East, money is no object. As a result, they can purchase just about anything they want. Want two yachts? Just transfer the money. The same can be said for golden-plated toilets in every room in their palaces. The bottom line is that for those who never have to worry about money again, spending their money on lavish purchases is a lifestyle they are accustomed to and love to flaunt. 

11. Expensive Watches

A timepiece on your wrist has long been a sign of tremendous wealth. The King of Bahrain prefers the Patek Philippe World Timer Manama, valued at $99,000, while the Emir of Qatar wears a Rolex valued at $65,000. 

10. Traveling Pets

In 2017, a member of the Saudi Royal family wanted to transport 80 of his favorite pet falcons. So he did what any oil-rich billionaire would do: buy out a commercial plane and transport all 80 of these falcons. 

9. Your Very Own Island

Why travel to an island for a vacation when you can just buy the island? One private retreat, Thuwal Private Retreat, is being developed in Saudi Arabia and is being promised as a place of indulgence for the royal family. 

8. Private Zoos

Instead of going to the zoo, you bring the zoo to you if you’re an oil-rich Sheik. It’s not unheard of for this ultra-wealthy crowd to purchase exotic animals and build their zoos on the property of one of their palaces. 

7. Diamond-Encrusted cars

Owning a Bentley, McLaren, or Lamborghini would be flashy enough for Middle Eastern royalty. However, these billionaires can go the extra mile and purchase diamond-encrusted cars worth an absolute fortune. 

6. Private Planes

One of the most famous oil-rich billionaires is Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who owns a modified Airbus A380 as his private jet, which cost an estimated $500 million or just a drop in the bucket against his $17 billion net worth. 

5. Celebrity Birthdays

One way oil-rich billionaires like to spend their money is on celebrity birthday appearances. Rihanna, Wiz Khalifa, and Paris Hilton are just a few of the names that pop up when discussing million-dollar appearances at Sheik birthday parties. 

4. Golden Toilets

Golden toilets, a one-time gift from Saudi Arabian King Abdullah, are just another day in the lives of oil-rich Middle Eastern billionaires. One toilet, in particular, was completely fitted with gold furnishings and set up along a golden bidet. 

3. Yachts

Like their homes, oil-rich Sheiks expect their yachts to be the best in the world. Two of the world’s largest and most expensive yachts, worth $400 million and $600 million, are owned by oil-rich members of Middle Eastern royalty, both by members of the United Arab Emirates royal family. 

2. Golden Palaces

Expect the homes of oil-rich Sheiks to be equivalent to palaces, as many of them are. The wealthiest oil-rich Sheiks in the Middle East are members of a royal family, and as a result, they have their share of palaces and homes worth hundreds of millions. 

1. Paintings

Money is no object when it comes to the most expensive paintings in the world. In fact, the most expensive painting purchase ever belongs to Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, buying Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi painting for $450.3 million.