Prince William to sell off 20 per cent of his $2 billion private property empire

The Prince of Wales will sell 20 per cent of his $2 billion private estate to fund affordable housing and environmental projects.

Prince William, as heir to the throne, receives the majority of his personal wealth from the Duchy of Cornwall, which he inherited from his King Charles upon the late Queen Elizabeth II's death in September 2022.

The property empire spans 54,000 hectares of land across 21 counties and includes farmland, hotels, medieval castles, offices, shops and some of London's prime luxury real estate.

The sell-off over the next decade will see Prince William invest £500 million (approx. $1 billion) in five core areas with the biggest social and environmental need: the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall and Dartmoor, Bath and Kennington in south London, The Times reports.

The reforms are part of Prince William's new strategy for the duchy, which earns the Prince of Wales approximately £23.6 million ($45m) per year.

The private earnings help fund the private lives of Prince William and Catherine, their three children and their official work.

Prince William previously said: "We're not the traditional landowner… we want to be more than that".

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"There is so much good we can do. I'm trying to make sure I'm prioritising stuff that's going to make people's lives, living in those areas, better."

Will Bax, chief executive of the duchy, told The Times the next 10 years would be one of change after William decided the duchy "shouldn't just exist to own land".

"It should first and foremost exist to have a positive impact on the world."

"If we don't see an opportunity for positive impact, then perhaps we don't need to be a part of that place," Bax said, referring to plans to sell off one fifth of the estate.

"But where there is social need and where there is environmental challenge and where there is an opportunity to enable change, then we'll be a great partner in working with people to achieve that."

One of Prince William's core projects is Homewards, which has the ambitious mission to end homelessness across the UK.

There are plans for the duchy to provide an extra 12,000 homes by 2040. One third of these are intended to be affordable, with an investment in housing of £161m (approx. $217m).

Since 2022, the prince has had plans to turn the duchy into a social enterprise, reflecting his interest in projects such as reducing homelessness and fighting climate change.

In 2024, an investigation into royal finances exposed the duchy for charging charities and community groups rent.

Following the criticism, the Duchy of Cornwall stopped imposing rents on lifeboat stations, the fire service, village halls and school playing fields while others had 50 per cent reductions.

There has been greater scrutiny on royal finances since the Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, particularly over royal property.

The King's younger brother faced criticism after it was revealed that he had not paid rent on Royal Lodge on the Windsor Estate for two decades.

In December, the UK's public accounts committee said it was launching an inquiry into royal leases with the Crown Estate.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that the Prince and Princess of Wales are paying almost £100,000 (approx. $186,822) more than the previous tenants to rent their family home in Windsor.

Prince William and Catherine are paying £307,500 (approx. $574,539) per year to rent Forest Lodge, according to The Times.

In July 2025, the couple signed a 20-year lease on the mansion in Windsor Great Park but the rent was unknown until now.

It is believed they agreed to publicly disclose the figure, having registered the official documents for their home with the Land Registry this week.

The family's rent is paid using the private income Prince William receives after tax from the earnings of the Duchy of Cornwall estate.

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