The Richest Man in the World

We know who the richest man in the word is today. A few years ago, before he gave away most of his money it was William Gates Jr. Back in the sixties it was Paul Getty. Today, it is Mr Elon Musk, But who was the richest man in the world back in 1947. Rockefeller, Howard Hughes ?  They were extremely rich, but not as rich as the Nizam of Hyderabad, otherwise known as Mir Osman Ali Khan.

In 1947, just months before India gained its independence, the Nizam ( or ruler) of India’s largest state ( the size of England and Scotland combined and heir of the great Mogul empire which once bestrode India ), was, according to Kenneth Mills of Today ( Photo World), who obtained an audience with the great man , worth £500m. Today that would be worth around $210.8bn.Actually, at the time of this meeting, no-one was quite sure how wealthy the Nizam was. Let Mr Mills explain:

The value of his fortune increases from hour to hour, and investigators find caches of precious metals and jewels tucked away and forgotten, which upsets all calculations. Experts from Britain were once called in and after several months of counting they failed to agree. Finally, they settled on five hundred million pounds—with a hundred million either way as a safety margin. 

The enormous Falakuma Palace, official residence of the Nizam, is a treasure house. British airmen recall the time when all the flat roofs of the royal compound shimmered with millions of pearls, when the Nizam thought they might lose their lustre and ordered an airing. The rooms of the Palace are choc-a bloc with gold plate and cases full of jewels. There is the solid gold plate service for 150 people. There is the Jacobs diamond, cut to the shape of a camel, one of the largest diamonds in the world, used as a paperweight by the Nizam; the egg-diamonds set egg-like, not only in shape but in size; the largest emerald collection known; and all along the walls gold is stacked, in bars, in coins, and large keg-shaped blocks. Once, when the Nizam had his servants take down some tapestries of which he had tired, scores of boxes filled with gold coins were found behind them.

But the ruler of Hyderabad no longer lives in his great palace…(but in) King Kothi, his private residence…King Kothi is a rambling collection of about a dozen ill-assorted buildings. A high wall surrounds the residence and there are guards from the Nizam’s own 100,000 strong army continuously on patrol. Inside is shabbiness cheek-by jowl with the inevitable fairy-story wealth. In one of the yards stands a gaudy Rolls-Royce, which some British statesman presented to the Nizam at his accession. It has been rusting for years. The royal elephants contentedly munch hay day after day, year after year. They are never used. For the Nizan drives in an ancient Ford tourer or uses an old Humber.

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Boon Haw’s Tiger Balm Car

Aw Boon Haw was the founder of the Tiger Balm fortunes.  His splendid sports car is shown in Carveth Wells 1940 book North of Singapore. 75 years later it is on display in the Tiger Balm mansion Haw Par Villa in Singapore. Aw Boon Haw used to drive the car (a customised Humber) around Singapore, a tiger head on the radiator, fangs protruding, wire whiskers. Red bulbs were in the eyes, and the horn sounded like a tiger’s roar. Great publicity - way before Shell's  "tiger in your tank."

There is a story of a road rivalry between Boon Haw and Sultan Ibrahim of Johore. Sultan Ibrahim was a sportsman and hunter. The incident took place when the Sultan, enraged at being overtaken by Boon Haw in his famous Tiger Car. Sultan Ibrahim shot at the Tiger Car on Bukit Timah Road. It was considered lese-majesté to overtake royalty even on foreign roads*. Notwithstanding, the British colonial administration forbade the Sultan thereafter from visiting Singapore ever again except for purpose of going to and from the Singapore airport.

* This tradition of royal road rage still persists among plutocrats - for example Aristotle Onassis's biographer notes that he detested anyone who overtook his Porsche...