Elizabeth II Alexandra Mary Windsor, known as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, as well as head of state of her former colonies Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, has an enormous fortune that can be measured in various ways, and she arguably tops the list of richest living monarchs. Born in 1926, she ascended to the throne in 1952, and since then, the UK, once known as the British Empire, has lost 12 nations that went on to their own independent, democratically ruled lives, including Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Saint Kitts and Nevis. The loss of territory, however, hasn't meant a drop in fortunes for Britain's reigning Queen, although the estimates vary widely depending on who you ask and what you count. While it's said her personal fortune amounts to a paltry $365 million or so, the long list of hereditary properties and assets she claims by right of her being Queen and all includes the land and Property assets of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Crown Estates, no fewer than four Royal Palaces (including Buckingham, Windsor Castle, the Tower of London), the Crown Jewels, her family's investments, the Royal Art Collection and several other family properties.