Chicago – April 02, 2024
The idea that royals will always be rich has been a perennial one, and a few individuals in history are an explicit node to that.
While some figures through history were rich due to personal wealth itself, others were considered rich due to their imperial possessions and the territory they controlled – the last Nizam of the princely state of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur, Asaf Jah VII, was both.
Born on 6 April 1886, Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII, was the last Nizam (ruler) of the Princely State of Hyderabad, the largest princely state in British India. He ascended the throne on 29 August 1911, at the age of 25 and ruled the Kingdom of Hyderabad between 1911 and 1948, until India annexed it. He was styled as His Exalted Highness (HEH) the Nizam of Hyderabad, and was one of the wealthiest individuals of all time. In 1937, Time magazine featured him on its cover as the world’s richest person.
The famous mines of Golconda were the major source of wealth for the Nizams, with the Kingdom of Hyderabad being the only supplier of diamonds for the global market in the 18th century.
The Nizam was so wealthy that he was portrayed on the cover of Time magazine on 22 February 1937, being described as the world’s richest man. At its peak, the wealth of Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII was worth ₹660 crore ($93 million) – all his conceivable assets combined in the early 1940s, while his entire treasure of jewels, would be worth between $150 million and $500 million variously in today’s terms.
He used the Jacob Diamond, a 185-carat diamond that is part of the Nizam’s jewellery, as a paperweight. During his days as Nizam, he was reputed to be the richest man in the world, having a fortune estimated at $2 billion in the early 1940s – $236 billion today as per US GDP figures where any monetary number is seen as a proportion of the US GDP. The US GDP was $200 billion in the 1940s. At the exchange rate of Rs3.3 to the US dollar, Nizam’s entire fortune including all his land and other assets was Rs660 crores or 1% of the US economy then.
The Nizam’s personal fortune was estimated to be roughly $150.4 million, including £54.69 million in gold and jewels – equivalent to $2933537733.42 in 2019.
In 1947, the Nizam made a gift of diamond jewels, including a tiara and necklace, to Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of her marriage. The brooches and necklace are still worn by the Queen and the necklace is known as the Nizam of Hyderabad necklace.
The Nizam originally wanted to join India, but after its independence in 1947, he did not wish to accede his state to the newly formed nation. By then, his power had weakened because of the Telangana movement and the rise of a radical militia known as the Razakars whom he could not put down.
In 1948, the British Indian Army invaded and annexed Hyderabad State, and the Nizam had to surrender. Post-independence, he became the Rajpramukh of Hyderabad State between 1950 and 1956, after which the state was partitioned and became part of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
The Nizam continued to stay at the King Kothi Palace until his death. He used to issue firmans on inconsequential matters in his newspaper, the Nizam Gazette.
Mir Osman Ali Khan died on Friday, 24 February 1967. In his will, he asked to be buried in Masjid-e Judi, a mosque where his mother was buried, that faced King Kothi Palace.
