Billionaires Billionaire Politicians And Now Billionaire Kings

---

The Curve, 1/feb: Did you know how many zeros there are in a billion? Of course, you didn’t. I doubt if those billionaires knew, either, which is probably why they generally fail to declare their wealth to the taxman. And for a resource-rich nation that should have done much better economically, Malaysia does seem to have more than its fair share of billionaires. Several are right now being investigated and interrogated by the anti-graft authorities. There are politicians among them and there are several more on the ringside shaking in their boots, waiting for their turn to be called in by the MACC.
And now, thanks to the influential wire agencies, we have a billionaire King!
1,000,000,000: Nine zeroes in a billion Just read some of the headlines on the coronation of Sultan Ibrahim’s as the 17th Agong of Malaysia:
1. Billionaire Sultan takes Malaysia crown as royals gain influence - The Edge 
2. Billionaire Sultan Ibrahim sworn is (sic) the new king of Malaysia - AP
3. Malaysia swears in motorbike-riding billionaire as new king under rotating monarchy system - Daily Mail
4. “… half-British billionaire ..” - Straits Times 
 
5. “Malaysia’s new king is a Billionaire with a collection of 300 luxury cars, his own private army and family ties to Hitler” - Business Insider
Note that none of our own newspapers, online or otherwise, tv & radio, news portals or prominent social media platforms use “billionaire” to define Tuanku Ibrahim’s, the 17th YDPA. I don’t know why but perhaps the Malaysian editors think it is impolite to do so, even though the Palace has not protested the wire reports that estimate His Majesty’s wealth to be around USD5.7 billion. 
That kind of wealth places our billionaire Agong well within the top 10 richest persons in Malaysia. In comparison, though, the Sultan of Brunei’s car collection alone is  said to be worth USD5 billion! 
Anyway, Selamat Hari Wilayah Persekutuan! Happy Federal Territories Day.

---