Investment queen: a look at Elizabeth II's fortune

Leaked documents linking Queen Elizabeth II to offshore investments in tax havens have shined a spotlight on her considerable fortune. Here are five things to know about the queen's finances.

FILE -  Leaked documents linking Queen Elizabeth II to offshore investments in tax havens has shined a spotlight on her considerable fortune. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

JUST HOW RICH IS THE QUEEN?

It's hard to measure precisely because some of her assets are privately held and some are part of the Crown Estate, which is not directly controlled by the monarch. The Sunday Times Rich List estimated Elizabeth's fortune at 360 million pounds ($472 million) based on an analysis of her private holdings, her stock portfolio, money inherited from her late mother, and income from the Crown Estate, a percentage of which is used to generate revenue for her expenses. This analysis doesn't include the rising value of the Crown Estate itself, which is in the billions, because she does not control its investments. This net worth figure would make her the 329th richest person in Britain, far from the top in a list headed by multi-billionaires.

Members of the Coldstream Guards march out as the "New Guard" from Buckingham Palace towards St James's Palace, during a changing of the guard ceremony in London, Monday, Nov. 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

DOES THE QUEEN PAY TAXES?

Elizabeth voluntarily agreed to start paying taxes in 1992 after she was harshly criticized in the tabloid press for her continuing tax exemption. The decision to change her tax status was announced in Parliament by Prime Minister John Major and was praised by politicians of both major parties. British monarchs had not always lived tax free — Queen Victoria paid income tax when it was introduced in 1842, but royals gradually received exemptions. King George V, the queen's grandfather, was the last sovereign to pay taxes until Elizabeth agreed to do so. The queen's decision, and a simultaneous reduction of the number of senior royals receiving funding support, helped improve her standing in a difficult period that she memorably dubbed her "annus horribilus" — or horrible year — after a series of family troubles and a catastrophic fire at her beloved Windsor Castle.

Queen Elizabeth Ii, photo via Instagram

DID SHE DO SOMETHING WRONG WITH HER INVESTMENTS?

Nothing has emerged to suggest that Elizabeth has done anything improper by investing roughly 10 million pounds in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda through the Duchy of Lancaster, which manages her private financial affairs. But investing in these regions is often a way to lower tax liability, and the idea that the monarch may be benefiting from tax havens will not sit well with people who feel the royal family already enjoys too many advantages. It doesn't help that some of the investment was in a company that has been accused of exploiting consumers. The Duchy of Lancaster says the queen did not receive any tax breaks through these investments.

May 9, 2012 file photo Britain's Queen Elizabeth II sits next to Prince Philip in the House of Lords as she waits to read the Queen's Speech to lawmakers in London. (AP Photo/File)

DOESN'T SHE OWN SOME VALUABLE PAINTINGS? AND A FANCY YACHT?

The Royal Collection is one of the world's greatest troves of fine art. Amassed by wealthy and powerful kings and queens in the last five centuries, it includes more than 1 million works, including priceless paintings by a long list of masters ranging from Rembrandt to Lucien Freud. These works are not the personal possessions of the queen — she is not free to sell them, for example, or to give them away as presents — but she holds the works in trust for the nation and for her successors. Many are loaned out for exhibition in museums and institutions throughout the world. She no longer has a yacht, however. The Britannia was decommissioned in 1997 — and the usually stoic queen shed a tear at the ceremony marking the demise of the last royal yacht.

May 25, 2011 file photo President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama welcome Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip for a reciprocal dinner at Winfield House in London. (AP Photo/File)

WHAT DOES THE QUEEN COST TAXPAYERS? IS SHE WORTH IT?

Buckingham Palace's latest annual report indicates that maintaining the monarchy costs each taxpayer about 65 pence ($0.85). This is based on the Sovereign Grant, which is public money used to support the official duties carried out by the queen and her family. Palace officials are fond of touting this figure. "When you consider that against what the queen does and represents for this country, I believe it represents excellent value for money," says Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse.

U.S. forces have boarded another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea. The announcement was made Friday by the U.S. military. The Trump administration has been targeting sanctioned tankers traveling to and from Venezuela.

The pre-dawn action was carried out by U.S. Marines and Navy, taking part in the monthslong buildup of forces in the Caribbean, according to U.S. Southern Command, which declared “there is no safe haven for criminals” as it announced the seizure of the vessel called the Olina.

Navy officials couldn’t immediately provide details about whether the Coast Guard was part of the force that took control of the vessel as has been the case in the previous seizures. A spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard said there was no immediate comment on the seizure.

The Olina is the fifth tanker that has been seized by U.S. forces as part of a broader effort by Trump’s administration to control the distribution of Venezuela’s oil products globally following the U.S. ouster of President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid.

The latest:

Richard Grenell, president of the Kennedy Center, says a documentary film about first lady Melania Trump will make its premiere later this month, posting a trailer on X.

As the Trumps prepared to return to the White House last year, Amazon Prime Video announced a year ago that it had obtained exclusive licensing rights for a streaming and theatrical release directed by Brett Ratner.

Melania Trump also released a self-titled memoir in late 2024.

Some artists have canceled scheduled Kennedy Center performances after a newly installed board voted to add President Donald Trump’s to the facility, prompting Grenell to accuse the performers of making their decisions because of politics.

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum says that she has asked her foreign affairs secretary to reach out directly to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio or Trump regarding comments by the American leader that the U.S. cold begin ground attacks against drug cartels.

In a wide-ranging interview with Fox News aired Thursday night, Trump said, “We’ve knocked out 97% of the drugs coming in by water and we are going to start now hitting land, with regard to the cartels. The cartels are running Mexico. It’s very sad to watch.”

As she has on previous occasions, Sheinbaum downplayed the remarks, saying “it is part of his way of communicating.” She said she asked her Foreign Affairs Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente to strengthen coordination with the U.S.

Sheinbaum has repeatedly rebuffed Trump’s offer to send U.S. troops after Mexican drug cartels. She emphasizes that there will be no violation of Mexico’s sovereignty, but the two governments will continue to collaborate closely.

Analysts do not see a U.S. incursion in Mexico as a real possibility, in part because Sheinbaum’s administration has been doing nearly everything Trump has asked and Mexico is a critical trade partner.

Trump says he wants to secure $100 billion to remake Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, a lofty goal going into a 2:30 meeting on Friday with executives from leading oil companies. His plan rides on oil producers being comfortable in making commitments in a country plagued by instability, inflation and uncertainty.

The president has said that the U.S. will control distribution worldwide of Venezuela’s oil and will share some of the proceeds with the country’s population from accounts that it controls.

“At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House,” Trump said Friday in a pre-dawn social media post.

Trump is banking on the idea that he can tap more of Venezuela’s petroleum reserves to keep oil prices and gasoline costs low.

At a time when many Americans are concerned about affordability, the incursion in Venezuela melds Trump’s assertive use of presidential powers with an optical spectacle meant to convince Americans that he can bring down energy prices.

Trump is expected to meet with oil executives at the White House on Friday.

He hopes to secure $100 billion in investments to revive Venezuela’s oil industry. The goal rides on the executives’ comfort with investing in a country facing instability and inflation.

Since a U.S. military raid captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Trump has said there’s a new opportunity to use the country’s oil to keep gasoline prices low.

The full list of executives invited to the meeting has not been disclosed, but Chevron, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips are expected to attend.

Attorneys general in five Democratic-led states have filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration after it said it would freeze money for several public benefit programs.

The Trump administration has cited concerns about fraud in the programs designed to help low-income families and their children. California, Colorado, Minnesota, Illinois and New York states filed the lawsuit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The lawsuit asks the courts to order the administration to release the funds. The attorneys general have called the funding freeze an unconstitutional abuse of power.

Iran’s judiciary chief has vowed decisive punishment for protesters, signaling a coming crackdown against demonstrations.

Iranian state television reported the comments from Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei on Friday. They came after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized Trump’s support for the protesters, calling Trump’s hands “stained with the blood of Iranians.”

The government has shut down the internet and is blocking international calls. State media has labeled the demonstrators as “terrorists.”

The protests began over Iran’s struggling economy and have become a significant challenge to the government. Violence has killed at least 50 people, and more than 2,270 have been detained.

Trump questions why a president’s party often loses in midterm elections and suggests voters “want, maybe a check or something”

Trump suggested voters want to check a president’s power and that’s why they often deliver wins for an opposing party in midterm elections, which he’s facing this year.

“There’s something down, deep psychologically with the voters that they want, maybe a check or something. I don’t know what it is, exactly,” he said.

He said that one would expect that after winning an election and having “a great, successful presidency, it would be an automatic win, but it’s never been a win.”

Hiring likely remained subdued last month as many companies have sought to avoid expanding their workforces, though the job gains may be enough to bring down the unemployment rate.

December’s jobs report, to be released Friday, is likely to show that employers added a modest 55,000 jobs, economists forecast. That figure would be below November’s 64,000 but an improvement after the economy lost jobs in October. The unemployment rate is expected to slip to 4.5%, according to data provider FactSet, from a four-year high of 4.6% in November.

The figures will be closely watched on Wall Street and in Washington because they will be the first clean readings on the labor market in three months. The government didn’t issue a report in October because of the six-week government shutdown, and November’s data was distorted by the closure, which lasted until Nov. 12.

FILE - President Donald Trump dances as he walks off stage after speaking to House Republican lawmakers during their annual policy retreat, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)