A former Premier League starlet is the heir to a £22billion fortune having played for Chelsea in his youth
Ben Crawford GAU Writer
07:00, 25 Jan 2026
Chelsea's Faiq Bolkiah during a friendly match between Chelsea Under 18 and Watford Under 18
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This ex-Chelsea winger hails from one of the world's richest families(Image: Getty)
Faiq Bolkiah spent years in Chelsea's academy and is now starring for Ratchaburi FC in the Thai League. But the 27-year-old actually holds royal lineage and his familial wealth dwarfs that of other famous footballing faces.
The winger was born in Los Angeles but began his career with AFC Newbury before spells with Southampton, Chelsea and Leicester. He was also on trial at Arsenal and Stoke City in his early teens and attended the £58,000-per-year Bradfield College in Berkshire.
He left England for Portugal in 2020 when signing for Maritimo and played only for the youth sides there for roughly one year before jumping ship for Thailand and Chonburi FC.
After 32 appearances for them he climbed the ladder to Ratchaburi, but throughout his footballing journey, his unfathomable fortune has been the talking point.
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Bolkiah is the nephew of Hassanal Bolkiah, the Sultan of Brunei. The Sultan's fortune is estimated to be in the region of £22billion, according to various sources, including Celebrity Net Worth, some of which Bolkiah stands to inherit.
Chelsea's U21 Faiq Bolkiah during a friendly match Under 21 match between Chelsea and Burnley at the Cobham Training Ground
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Faiq spent years in Chelsea's youth setup(Image: Getty)
The family's car collection is thought to be the world's largest and is valued at around £5bn. It includes a reported 7,000 cars and in terms of other vehicles, a £460million gold-plated Boeing 747 is the standout.
Faiq's family's sovereign wealth has been generated primarily through oil reserves. Since 1929, Brunei has been one of the world's most renowned producers of crude oil and natural gas. The line between state and personal assets in the country is incredibly thin.
A huge portion of the family's fortune has also been reinvested into stocks and a diverse financial portfolio. They also own a string of luxury hotels and estates in London, Paris and New York.
But behind all this money appears to be a relatively down-to-earth footballer, at least where Faiq's former team-mates are concerned. The winger played alongside the likes of Tammy Abraham and Ruben Loftus-Cheek during his Chelsea days.
Faiq Bolkiah playing for Leicester City
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The 27-year-old also spent a while at Leicester City(Image: Getty)
Ruben Sammut, who was also in that cohort, spoke to The Athletic about the Brunei international and the jokes team-mates used to make about his wealth. He said: "You would never ever have thought he was something like the 12th in line to the throne.
"You would not have thought of him as royalty. He was a humble guy, trying every day like every academy player. We used to joke he didn't need to play football but he wanted to play because he loved football.
"It wasn't a regular thing we mentioned. It was that typical banter, saying he is royalty, saying, 'What's he doing playing with us?' But we all knew deep down how much he wanted to play, so it was more good-willed passing comments."
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