Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid

Dubai Royal Wins Battle to Expand Scottish Castle

The other day we wrote about the Emir of Qatar's fight with the mayor of Paris over his plans to expand a historic mansion. Now another megarich Middle Eastern potentate is having similar problems - but in this case it looks as if he'll get his way. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the crown prince and ruler of Dubai, bought the Inverinate Estate, a 14-bedroom mansion on 63,000 acres in the Scottish Highlands near the Kyle of Lochalsh, 25 years ago for about $3 million. However, the Sheikh (above, at the Royal Ascot races), who was ranked at No. 5 on Forbes' list of the world's richest royals in 2008 with a fortune of $18 billion, recently decided the place is too small, the the Scotsman reports.

The Sheikh planned to build a new modern two-story lodge featuring a penthouse suite, dining room, kitchen and 16 bedrooms, all with en-suite baths and some with living-room areas. Made from a mix of natural stone, timber paneling and glass, it consists of three main blocks linked by glassed-in walkways. Though the present mansion was built in 1929 to replace an earlier 1880 building, critics initially opposed the Sheikh's plan for the incongruous addition, noting the building is a fine example of Scottish vernacular architecture of its period. After having been brought to a vote by the planning council however, the Sheikh will now be allowed to construct what one critic described as "something you would find in the Arabian desert."

Source

Tags: Dubai, Middle East, MiddleEast, Qatar, Scotland, sheikh mohammed bin rashid, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum, SheikhMohammedBinRashid, SheikhMohammedBinRashidAl-maktoum

Abramovich's New $350 Million Megayacht Will Have Missile Defense System

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's new $355 million, 555-ft. Eclipse, designed to be the world's biggest, will have a military-grade missile defense system to keep the oligarch safe. My colleague Deidre Woollard first reported on initial plans for the Eclipse back in January. Now further details are emerging about the megayacht (rendering above), which when completed next summer will be 25 ft. longer than Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid's 530-ft. Platinum, currently ranked as the biggest yacht in the world. Secrecy surrounds the Eclipse, but sources tell the London Times that an antiballistic missile defense system is being installed by AST, a company with close ties to both the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg, where the yacht is being built, and the German defense ministry.

The Eclipse is also being equipped with armor plating surrounding the bridge and Abramovich's master suite, as well as bullet-proof windows. There's also a submarine that can be launched underwater and dive to a depth of 160 ft. that doubles as an escape pod, as well as two helicopter pads. Civilian ships are not allowed to carry weapons and so have to limit themselves to defense systems, but Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz gets around this by having his 482-ft. yacht registered as a Royal Saudi Navy vessel, said to be equipped with French-made Exocet missiles. Pirate attacks on luxury craft are on the rise of late. Abramovich owns three other megayachts already: the 377 ft. Pelorus, the 282 ft. Ecstasea and the 160 ft. Sussurro.

Gallery: Abramovich's Megayachts

Tags: Dubai, Eclipse, Ecstasea, megayacht, Pelorus, Pirates, roman abramovich, RomanAbramovich, russian billionaires, RussianBillionaires, Saudi Arabia, SaudiArabia, sheikh mohammed bin rashid, SheikhMohammedBinRashid, Sussurro, Yacht

Queen of England Far Behind UAE on Richest Royals List

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

More bad news for the Queen of England - she has fallen to 12th place on Forbes' list of the world's richest royals. Earlier this month we reported that the value of her London residence, Buckingham Palace, had fallen by a whopping $100 million thanks to declining property values.

Now Elizabeth II is suffering the added indignity of languishing on the rich list, as her measly $650 million fortune puts her well behind the UAE's oil-rich rulers. In the No. 1 spot for the first time is King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, with a net worth of $35 billion, who apparently shot up the list as a result of admitting he was richer than previously thought.

At No. 2 is Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE and hereditary ruler of Abu Dhabi, with a net worth of $23 billion. No. 3 is King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, worth $21 billion. And Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, ruler of Dubai, clocks in at No. 5 with $18 billion. See the complete list here.

Tags: abu dhabi, AbuDhabi, buckingham palace, BuckinghamPalace, Dubai, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, KingAbdullahBinAbdulAziz, KingBhumibolAdulyadej, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of England, QueenElizabethIi, QueenOfEngland, Royalty, Saudi Arabia, SaudiArabia, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, SheikhKhalifaBinZayedAlNahyan, SheikhMohammedBinRashid, Thailand, UAE, united arab emirates, UnitedArabEmirates