Although rarely seen in public because of his age and illness, he is everywhere. His portraits hang from the facades of government buildings, crown the entrance to airports and are de rigueur in offices and schools.
In a country where average household income is less than $9,000 a year, Bhumibol is almost unfathomably rich. In addition to the king’s personal holdings, the Crown Property Bureau, a royal trust, controls more than $37 billion in assets, which produce hundreds of millions of dollars in annual income that, according to Thai law, can be spent “at the king’s pleasure.”
Although rarely seen in public because of his age and illness, he is everywhere. His portraits hang from the facades of government buildings, crown the entrance to airports and are de rigueur in offices and schools.In a country where average household income is less than $9,000 a year, Bhumibol is almost unfathomably rich. In addition to the king’s personal holdings, the Crown Property Bureau, a royal trust, controls more than $37 billion in assets, which produce hundreds of millions of dollars in annual income that, according to Thai law, can be spent “at the king’s pleasure.”
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..
