menu_open Columnists
We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

The world’s wealthiest dynasty is growing richer from Britain's SEND crisis

22 0
02.06.2025

The al-Nahyan dynasty has ruled Abu Dhabi since the 18th century and is almost certainly the richest family in the world. It is headed by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, whose nine children and two adopted daughters have been raised in a gilded world of astonishing opulence with glittering palaces and a fleet of private jets.

The family fortune is estimated to be in excess of £300bn, based on ownership of 6 per cent of the globe’s oil reserves, which has been invested in a diverse range of industries including Elon Musk’s Space X adventures, Rihanna’s beauty brand, Waymo self-driving taxis and Manchester City football club.

One cousin of the President is nicknamed the Rainbow Sheikh. Sadly, this is not due to his support for LGBT rights in a feudal society that criminalises same-sex relationships but results from his request to Mercedes to make him cars painted in every colour of the rainbow as a wedding present.

This billionaire has built up a massive collection of cars, split across several museums and including some of the strangest vehicles on Earth such as a giant replica of a Second World War jeep. These also include the world’s biggest truck, which sounds like a palace on wheels with its four air-conditioned bedrooms, a living room, bathrooms and even a patio.

Such extravagant vanity projects offer a potent emblem of global inequality when a spendthrift member of a monarch’s family builds a truck as a plaything that is more luxurious than the homes of many people on our planet.

Yet this........

© iNews