NIZAM OF HYDERABAD

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXI, Issue 4957, 18 February 1937, Page 5

NIZAM OF HYDERABAD

RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD. The Nizam of Hyderabad, who is reputed to be the richest man in the world, with an income of £1,500,000 a year, has begun his silver jubilee celebrations. About the beginning of this year the Nizam was said to have spent £1,000,000 on a modern Arabian Nights festival as a prelude to his silver jubilee celebrations. The festival included the establishment of a broadcasting organisation to supply 20,000 villages with a network of community radio sets free. Besides several personal treasure vaults, the Nizam owns gold and diamonds, and "counts his treasures by the truckload." According to some statements he aims to'be the leading sovereign of the world's Mohammedan community and assume the title of Caliph of the Faithful, which has lapsed since the Sultans of Turkey were banished. To this end one of the Nizam's sons has been married to the former Caliph's niece, and the Caliph himself has been befriended. The Nizam has a reputation for personal meanness in his own manner of living. He sticks to old clothes and shoes, and haggles with merchants over pennies. For his subjects he is said to knit socks and gloves and to sell them at exorbitant prices. Invitations to dinner are sent on tornoff parts of old letters, servants are told whom to serve with champagne, whom to serve with wine. It is also said that his comparatively new acquaintance with poetry, teaching the unimportance of wealth for its own sake, is spurring the Nizam's vast public spending. For his poor peasants vast sums have gone to buy up-to-date machinery.