In February 22, 1937, Time magazine featured Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last of Hyderabad’s Nizams, on its cover, hailing him as the richest man in the world.
The Nizam continues to figure on the list of richest people, even after 75 years.
And now, Celebrity Networth website, in its latest assessment of the 24 richest people of all time, puts Mir Osman Ali Khan in the sixth slot. It also describes him as the richest Indian ever. The website assessed the wealth of the former ruler of Hyderabad and others after adjusting inflation. At that time, Time magazine had put the net assets of the Nizam at $2 billion. When the amount is inflation-adjusted for today, he is worth $236 billion (Rs 12,98,000 crore).
Incidentally, India’s budget for 201213 is only Rs 9,35,685 crore.
The wealth of Mir Osman Ali Khan can be gauged from the fact that he used a diamond the size of a hen’s egg as a paperweight.
Though he inherited much of his property from his father, he added to his material and financial assets in the form of revenue from coal mining, land tax and gifts comprising diamonds and gold and silver articles, often weighing several kilograms. One of the gifts was a model of his throne cast in seven kg gold.
“The Nizam was extremely rich. But he led a simple life. He was a great visionary. He spent 11 per cent of the royal budget on education,” said Mir Kamaluddin Ali Khan, secretary of Mukarram Jah Educational Trust.
Mir Osman Ali Khan had a personal collection of 350 kg of diamonds, most of them mined along the Krishna river valley. The Nizam Diamond, at 277 carats, was rated the world’s third largest.
The Nizam had his own bank and currency and several thousand hectares of real estate and sprawling palaces.
During the IndoChina war, he donated two lorry loads of gold coins to the Indian government.
Nizam assets more than India's budget In 1937, Nizam's assets were twice the Indian government's budget.
Even today, it is 1.5 times more than the Indian Union Budget of 2012-13.
India's budget in 2012-13 is Rs 9,35,685 crore, while Nizam's assets are worth Rs12,98,000 crore.