The custody battle between Dubai’s ruler and his ex-wife has shed light on Dubai’s opulent lifestyle, from buying racehorses on a whim to owning a roomful of jewels. The High Court of Dubai published a ruling on Tuesday ordering Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum to provide more than 554 million pounds ($ 733 million) to settle a long-running custody battle with his ex-wife, Jordan’s Princess Haya, over their two children. According to a Reuters report, here are some details about their lifestyles, provided by Haya, their legal teams, and from the judge’s ruling.
BLACKMAIL
Haya was asked during the hearing why she had used money from the children’s bank accounts to pay 6.7 million pounds to four unnamed members of her security team who had threatened to expose an affair she was having with one of her bodyguards. ‘I was very frightened. I was scared to see the kind of money that was available in that amount’, Haya said when asked why she had used money from the children’s accounts to pay them off.
After the first payment to a member of her security team, two more blackmailed her for more than 4 million pounds. The sheikh’s lawyer, Nigel Dyer, confirmed that a fourth man received 1.2 million pounds. ‘I realise I have not heard from the alleged blackmailers but nobody should be blackmailed and (Haya) must have been very frightened at this point, I have already recognised that it would have been better if (she) had used her own funds to deal with the blackmailers but I accept that she was in a very difficult position indeed. She would have been desperate for (Mohammed) not to find out’, judge Philip Moor said in his ruling.
HOUSES
London residence: Haya bought her mansion near Kensington Palace, which is the home of Britain’s Prince William and his wife, for 87.5 million pounds in 2016 and it now has a market value of about 100 million pounds. Renovated in 2017/8, the court cost 14.7 million pounds, including 9.3 million for structural work and 2.8 million for fixtures and fittings.
As part of the 10-year refurbishment, the princess asked the sheikh to cover the costs of five housekeepers and a handyman, in addition to a 223,000-pound a year contract with a property maintenance company. A further 900,000 pounds would cover wear and tear – such as curtains, carpets and replacement furniture – and 100,000 pounds for cleaning products, dry cleaning and appliances. Haya said it has always been at a very high standard, and that is why so many people are needed to maintain it as it is now. Moore agreed to a 10 million pound refurbishment, 500,000 pounds for wear and tear, and 223,000 pounds for maintenance.
Castlewood: She also requested large sums to maintain her father’s estate, the late King Hussein of Jordan’s Castlewood mansion in Berkshire, west of London, which had been left to her by him. She requested 770,000 pounds for maintenance, two estate managers, and three housekeepers. According to Dyer, that would mean spending 7.7 million pounds over 10 years on a house worth only 4.5 million. Moor awarded her full running costs, 125,000 pounds annually for wear and tear, and 200,000 pounds per year for a ten-year refurbishment plan.
HORSES
Haya testified to the court that if she wanted a horse, she bought it before her divorce. Haya claimed to own more than 400 racehorses, including New Approach, the Epsom Derby winner, during the custody dispute. She or her children sought 75 million pounds in compensation for those horses. One of the world’s most influential horse owners and breeders, Sheikh Al-Faisal founded the Godolphin horse racing stable with his brother, added that the horses had ran in her colors, but actually belonged to Godolphin.
Dyer said the list of her racehorse claims grew from 16 to 26 to 62, and that some of the horses had died or been sold. He cited one horse, Ben Vrackie, for which she asked 400,000 pounds in compensation. It came last in its final race in September 2019 and was sold in May 2021 for 20,000 pounds. In a statement to the court, Mohammed said Haya had never received any winnings from her horses. She said a 15 million-pound sum she had been paid by him in March 2018 after the Dubai World Cup was prize money, while he said it was for doing a good job of organising his guests. It was found that ‘it is obvious that the horses came from Godolphin’ since the stable paid for their upkeep, kept the winnings and stud fees, and agreed that the 15 million pounds was a gift from the stable.
HOLIDAYS AND LEISURE
According to Moor’s ruling, the couple spent 631,000 pounds on one summer vacation in Italy and 274,000 euros on a hotel stay in Greece during her marriage. Haya was granted funding for nine weeks of travel abroad every year and two more weeks of vacation in Britain. In addition, Haya was granted funding for three weekends in Jordan and three weekends in Britain. Moor said he had to decide what was reasonable while also keeping in mind that these children enjoyed extraordinary wealth and a high standard of living during the marriage.
Holiday awards totaled 5.1 million pounds a year, which included a million pounds for hiring a private plane and almost a million for hotels and food. Moore also gave her one million pounds for leisure. Furthermore, he provided 277,050 pounds a year for spending on pets, including 25,000 pounds for buying horses and 12,000 pounds for toys, grooming, and training unspecified animals.
JEWELRY AND CLOTHES
Haya, who claimed her ex-husband was very generous to her during the marriage, requested 52 million pounds as compensation for the allegedly stolen clothes and jewelry. Her collection of haute couture was worth about 74 million euros, and only a few essential items had been returned to her after she fled to Britain. Haya said that most of her jewelery, including diamonds, pearls, sapphires, and emeralds, had been left in a palace in Dubai and later disappear. The diamond set alone, which included a necklace, ring, and earrings, was worth one million pounds.
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PRINCE ALI
Haya funded Prince Ali’s unsuccessful campaign for FIFA president in 2016 with the blessing of her ex-husband, according to the sheikh’s lawyer. During the marriage, Haya provided her brother with 400,000 pounds a year in financial support, with the sheikh’s approval, and in October 2019 she paid her brother $5 million for the cost of maintaining his home in Jordan, Baraka Palace.
According to her, Sheikh Mohammed was very kind to members of her family, and she didn’t want Ali to be suddenly taken away nor her children to feel obligated to make the payments if anything happened to her.
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