World’s richest man? Malaysian ‘trillionaire’ has tongues wagging
By Yong Yen Nie Jan 27, 2012 1:17PM UTC
Move over Carlos Slim and Bill Gates. The richest man on earth may be Kamal Ashnawi, who claims to have five trillion euros in one of his multiple bank accounts, pushing Slim and Gates off the edge for being still just “billionaires”.
Kamal who, you ask? According to an article in The Star, Kamal claims to be a descendent of the Emperor of China and that his bloodline can be traced to the royal families of China, India, Java and Siam.
“We call him Tuanku (your majesty) as he is a sultan from Indonesia,” an aide to Kamal is quoted as saying to The Star journalist, Philip Golingai. He also goes by the name Raden Mas Prabhu Gusti Agung Ki Asmoro Wijoyo.
Kamal said he first knew about his background after a member of an Indonesian royal family that was kicked out of the country by President Sukarno told him of his royal blood.
He then travelled to Kunming, China to meet “the keeper of the royal treasure” and was led to a three-metre high cave, which stocked gold bars that were stacked like a pagoda, US$15 million in jade and US$10 million in diamonds and stacks of US dollars.
Claiming that he is the reincarnation of two emporers of China, he said that a few years ago, the royal family had decided he would be the sole administrator of the royal wealth kept in secret accounts in about 1,000 banks worldwide. “This means that 86.7% of the world’s money belongs to me,” he is quoted as saying and even showed some documents and letters from a London branch of HSBC, certifying he has an account with 5 trillion euros.
However, Kamal said he had not made any withdrawal from the account as the money is under the control of Indonesia, Germany, Britain, the US, and Euro Central Bank. “It’s not money you can move just like that. I can’t use the money directly but I will invest in certain projects, like three million euros to green a desert in China,” he is quoted as saying.
Kamal said come this March, he would negotiate with institutions such as the IMF to be recognised as the Emperor of Indonesia.
Kamal’s story raises questions of credibility and both the local and London branches of HSBC bank declined to verify Kamal’s claims, citing confidentiality.
The Star also contacted acting Indonesian ambassador Mulya Wirana said they had heard of others making such claims but “nothing of this magnitude”.
“There have been many others who have made claims about treasure belonging to Indonesian royalty and they have all turned out to be fake,” he is quoted as saying here.
Subsequently, Kamal was lambasted for making such claims by netizens in Malaysia. But the so-called trillionaire is unperturbed. In a response to the criticism, he said he was not surprised by the negative reaction, saying the “common people” would soon see evidence of his claims.
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