Felipe VI ascended the Spanish throne in 2014. That year, his father Juan Carlos abdicated in his favor after a 39-year reign. In 2019, the former sovereign found himself at the heart of a financial scandal. Indeed, it was revealed that year that he would have received very large commissions on state markets. Including in particular 80 million euros for the construction of a high-speed train in Saudi Arabia.
Felipe VI’s father would have taken advantage of the tax amnesty decreed in 2012 by the Spanish government to repatriate and launder most of this sum. A huge scandal which tainted the Iberian monarchy. Juan Carlos’ son therefore had to make a radical choice. He thus publicly announced that he was renouncing his father’s inheritance in 2020. At the same time, the Spanish monarch also excluded his daughter Leonor (the crown princess, editor’s note) from this succession.
Felipe of Spain: the amount of his father’s fortune remains a mystery
For the moment, the exact amount of Felipe VI’s father’s fortune remains unknown. Juan Carlos would have, among other things, millions of euros placed in tax havens. Like for example Panama and Liechtenstein. The former Iberian sovereign also created a foundation bearing his name, intended to manage the money he keeps outside Spain. The Spanish journalist José Maria Olmo spoke about this subject during an interview with the magazine Point of view.
The latter states in particular that the foundation of the father of Felipe VI aims to “main objective of centralizing the funds that the king possesses“. “In 2020 and 2021, Juan Carlos carried out several tax regularizations. But it is obvious that he still has a heritage. In 2016, he would have made a real estate capital gain of 20 million euros of which we have lost track“, also specified the head of investigations of the Spanish newspaper
The Confidential.
The memoirs of Juan Carlos shake the Spanish monarchy
“The foundation also makes it possible to collect donations from entrepreneurs. And from people who already support Juan Carlos. Starting with the Emirati royal family“, also underlined José Maria Olmo. Currently, King Felipe VI fears the next media outings of his father, who plans to publish his memoirs.
Indeed, Juan Carlos intends to explain himself on “his mistakes” through an autobiographical book. According to information from the magazine Point of viewthis work, baptized Reconciliationwould already be ready in France. It should be published by Stock Editions. Initially scheduled for November 2024, the publication of the memoirs of Felipe VI’s father in France has been postponed to the beginning of 2025.
