While Canada pledged hundreds of millions in aid to Jordan last week, its King Abdullah II is reportedly growing his collection of luxury homes.
Abdullah II, who has been in power since 1999, has two huge estates in the capital, Amman.
In 2017, the Jordanian Times reported that the King purchased a “21,000 square meter house” in Karak, Jordan’s second-largest city. The price tag is $14 million, but it’s unclear how much the palace was sold for.
In July, the British newspaper The Guardian said the King bought a large plot of land in Karak.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II bought an entire city for his palace – and paid over a million dollars a year to live in it https://t.co/27GdBfhnJw pic.twitter.com/j34c75W1IV — Mother Jones (@MotherJones) September 25, 2018
In the summer of 2015, he purchased a 6.6-hectare (15-acre) piece of land in Abu Dhura, according to The Guardian. This estate is reportedly under repair, and the palace there is “freehold for reconstruction.”
This year, he received a hefty tax break and other perks when he received his new palace on the other side of the Jordan River, according to Britain’s Telegraph.
The Telegraph reported that King Abdullah has donated $4.25 million in aid to Jordan and spent $5.2 million on renovations to his palace.
According to The Guardian, the king says his palace is finished but is completed because “some of the plaques are still leaning on their plinths.”
The Telegraph reported that King Abdullah put $3.4 million into this palace, built for his own privacy.
The main palace in the capital Amman houses the Jordanian Crown Prince, the Jordanian Queen and Queen Rania.