How much does King Charles III make from his billion-dollar Duchy?

King Charles at Buckingham Palace, in London, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023. (Aaron Chown / AP)

When King Charles III ascended to the throne, he gave up the billion-dollar estate he had been in possession of for 70 years.

Luckily, he came into something that made up for the loss – a different billion-dollar estate, which generated a surplus of more than $48 million this past year, according to financial disclosures.

The Duchy of Lancaster is an "ancient body responsible for managing an investment portfolio of land, property and financial investments," according to its official website.

According to the site, "The Duchy's main purpose is to provide income for the Sovereign as Duke of Lancaster" – and in this past year, the Duchy provided income to the tune of £27.4 million ($48.7 million).

That value was up 4.5 per cent from the previous year, and has been rising for each of the past three years.

The total value of the estate is vast and also increasing – its net asset value grew one per cent in 2024 to £647.6 million ($1.15 billion).

Despite its size, the Duchy of Lancaster is actually second in line when put next to the Duchy of Cornwall, which was passed down to William, the Prince of Wales, in 2022. That estate comes with a net asset value of £1.1 billion ($1.98 billion) and had an income surplus of £23.6 million ($42.1 million) this past year.