Brunei Family Feuds !

Brunei , size of Norfolk , 375,000 population , the fifth-highest GDP on the planet . And , oh , yes , an absolute monarch who is also prime minister and defence minister, and who amended Brunei's constitution in 2006 to declare himself infallible, stating: "His Majesty the Sultan... can do no wrong in either his personal or any official capacity."

For sure , the Sultan has been careful to ensure that his subjects receive a share of Brunei's wealth of a GDP of $20bn. The enclave offers each of its citizens free healthcare and education as well as subsidised food and housing. The government owns a ranch in Australia which is larger than Brunei itself and provides all the country's beef.But the people's welfare it is not quite on par with Sultan Hassan's £4bn car collection is estimated to contain between 3,000 and 6,000 vehicles, including a 500-strong fleet of Rolls Royces – the largest in the world. He hired the late Michael Jackson to sing at his 50th birthday and gave a daughter – one of 12 children – an Airbus for her 18th birthday.The Independent reports that a rapprochement has taken place within the dynasty between the Sultan and his brother the "Playboy" Prince Jefri. Like his senior brother Jefri is no slouch when it comes to self - indulgence. Spending at a rate of £500,000 a day for a decade, Prince Jefri allegedly acquired 2,000 cars, including Ferraris, Rolls Royces and Aston Martins; 17 aircraft, including a Boeing 747 adapted to transport his polo ponies and a Comanche attack helicopter; a vast portfolio of international property from London and Paris to New York and Singapore , a 50-metre yacht named Tits and two speedboat tenders named Nipple I and Nipple II.

Prince Jefri was minister of finance and head of the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA), the sovereign wealth fund set up to invest the country's oil earnings.The 1990s financial crisis in Asia exposed alleged holes in the BIA's accounts and gave rise to allegations that the royal had embezzled £8bn to fund a personal spending spree .Jefri has consistently denied any wrongdoing and insisted much of the money he was accused of pilfering was, in fact, sent in "special transfers" to the Sultan's personal bank accounts.The family feud looked to have reached a settlement in 2000 when Prince Jefri reached an out-of-court agreement with the BIA to return £3bn in assets. As part of the deal, the prince held an auction of his chattels from Amedeo's Brunei base, which included unused Mercedes Benz fire engines, two flight simulators, several hundred Louis XIV chairs and 16,000 tons of Italian marble.But alas both parties subsequently accused one another of failure to keep their side of the bargain, including a £200m "lifestyle agreement" to keep Jefri in the manner to which he was accustomed.