A country ranked beyond 120th place worldwide in human development, and a sovereign whose personal wealth reportedly ranks among the largest on the planet. This is the paradox explored in an investigation published by Marianne in March 2012, focused on the management of the Moroccan king’s finances.
A Troubling Contrast
According to the weekly, Mohammed VI’s personal fortune reportedly doubled over a five-year span, even though the kingdom lacks natural resources comparable to those of the oil-rich Gulf monarchies. The American magazine Forbes reportedly estimated this fortune at around 1.8 billion euros — a figure that, still according to Marianne, could never circulate freely inside Morocco, since the issue containing this revelation was reportedly banned in the country.
This budgetary opacity reportedly extends to the very top of the state: according to the investigation, the Royal Palace’s operating budget proportionally exceeds that of the French presidency, even though Morocco’s national wealth remains far lower than France’s. Meanwhile, more than five million Moroccans reportedly live on less than one euro a day, and the country’s poverty rate reportedly exceeds 18%, the paper notes.
An Investigation Focused on the Financial Record
The article draws on a book by journalists Catherine Graciet and Éric Laurent, devoted to what the authors describe as a predatory drift in royal power. According to Marianne, the book deliberately avoids judging the king’s political record in order to focus solely on his economic record — one the authors reportedly consider striking, going so far as to describe a systematic capture of the national economy for the crown’s benefit, more extensive than anything his father Hassan II managed to organize.
According to the paper, the authors reportedly describe a system built to keep the population unaware of the true scale of royal wealth, while the state’s administrative apparatus — the « makhzen » — reportedly underwent only cosmetic adjustments without its underlying nature being challenged.
Multiple, Loosely Controlled Sources of Income
The investigation reportedly details several sources of income attributed to the sovereign: a monthly salary of around $40,000, supplemented by several million euros a year for his close entourage, along with a subsidy allowance worth tens of millions of euros whose use reportedly escapes any outside oversight. According to Marianne, this same allowance reportedly served, under Hassan II, to secure the loyalty of Moroccan and foreign political figures, as well as a French network of academics, lawyers, journalists, and former intelligence officials particularly favorable to the kingdom.
Added to this are reportedly lavish expenses covering luxury vehicles, private jets, artwork, and the royal wardrobe — the latter estimated at around 2 million euros a year — not counting the upkeep of monumental residences inherited from the previous reign.
Moroccan — and Sometimes French — Taxpayers Footing the Bill
The mechanism described by Marianne rests on a simple principle: royal largesse, funded by public money, is ultimately paid for by Moroccan taxpayers through taxation, including when the state directly subsidizes companies owned by the king. The article cites Morocco’s high-speed rail project as an example, presented as a form of compensation granted to France after the failed sale of Rafale fighter jets, with French financing reportedly amounting to roughly one billion euros charged to French taxpayers.
Taking Control of the « National Champions »
According to the paper, the rise of a new generation of royal advisers — particularly the duo of Mounir Majidi and Hassan Bouhemou — reportedly ushered in a strategy of building « national champions »: groups holding monopoly or near-monopoly positions in which the king holds direct stakes. This strategy reportedly resulted in the gradual departure of the royal holding company ONA’s longtime foreign partners, such as Axa, Danone, and Auchan, leaving the sovereign dominant across entire sectors: insurance, telecommunications, agri-food, real estate, energy, and retail.
Marianne also points to the restructuring of the Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion, the body managing the pensions of millions of Moroccans, whose resources were reportedly redirected, through various financial arrangements, toward funding projects tied to the crown.
A System the Investigation Calls « Neo-Feudal »
At the end of the investigation, the journalists paint the picture of a power structure organized around two goals: containing any popular unrest and channeling the kingdom’s entire resources toward enriching the ruling family. A system that the book reportedly describes, according to Marianne, as a « neo-feudal » monarchy.
This article was written based on information and analysis published by the French weekly Marianne (March 7, 2012), which itself draws on the book « Le Roi prédateur » by Catherine Graciet and Éric Laurent. The figures and claims reported here reflect the content of that investigation and have not been independently verified in the writing of this article.
#Morocco #MohammedVI #The_predatory_king #Marianne #MohammedVI_fortune
Soyez le premier à commenter