‘Must earn a living like ordinary Malaysians’: Johor royals’ business empire spans real estate, telco and more

[KUALA LUMPUR] The Johor royal family, led by Malaysia’s current king Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, controls an estimated US$5.7 billion in assets through wide-ranging interests in real estate, telecommunications and infrastructure, including the US$100 billion Forest City project off south-western Johor.

In defence of his widely-known active business involvements, Sultan Ibrahim once said that he “must earn a living like ordinary Malaysians”, rather than rely solely on his monthly allowance of RM27,000 (S$8,210).

In that 2015 interview with Malaysian news outlet The Star, he said: “I believe it is healthy for royalty to be involved in proper and legitimate businesses, rather than to be in dubious businesses that harm the image of the institution.”