London, Oct.26 : You would expect one of the world's richest men to have a luxury car,  a sprawling mansion, a yacht or two and fly by private jet. But the spending habits of the Sultan of Brunei, Haji Hassan-al-Bolkiah can leave anyone amazed, if not shocked.

According to The Mirror, an astonishing court case this week revealed the extent of the Sultan's financial excesses.

Court papers revealed that 61-year-old Bolkiah paid 1.26 million pounds to his badminton coach, and 1.25 million pounds for acupuncture and massage.

He even spent nearly 50,000 pounds on guards for his collection of exotic birds.

His five-strong PR team collected a total of 29.3 million pounds. And two housekeepers were each paid around 7 million pounds.

The eye-popping figures were exposed during a bitter legal battle with his brother Prince Jefri.

The 50-page list of payments - which totals 19.5 billion pounds - also reveals that over four years nearly 4 billion pounds of state funds was paid into his account to bankroll his lifestyle. That's more than oil-rich Brunei's entire GDP.

But what a lifestyle. He is believed to own a fleet of 5,000 luxury and sports cars and his own private Boeing 747-400 worth 115 million pounds.

He shares a 1,788-room palace with Queen Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleh, who he married in 1965, and HRH Pengiran Isteri Azrinaz Mazhar, 29, who he married in 2005. The family also has lavish homes in London, Los Angeles, New York and Paris.

Details of the father-of-11's finances have become public thanks to the most expensive family feud in legal history.

The Sultan, who has ruled as absolute monarch for 40 years, and his brother have been embroiled in a legal battle for 10 years. Lawyers' bills alone stretch to 200 million pounds.

The Sultan claims his younger brother siphoned off 8 billion pounds during 13 years as finance minister and is now claiming the prince has failed to repay the 3 billionn which was agreed in an out-of-court settlement back in 2000.

The prince, on the other hand, is appealing the embezzlement allegations and maintains the Sultan has reneged on a deal over which assets he could keep. He also reckons he can never receive a fair trial in Brunei.

The Sultan, a Sandhurst graduate, has rewritten his country's constitution to say: "His Majesty the Sultan... can do no wrong in his personal or any official capacity."

It also warns against taking the Sultan's name in vain in any court.

Brunei was ruled by Britain before gaining independence in 1984, and The Privy Council - which sits in Downing Street - is still the superior court and will rule on the row later this month.

Here is a list of how the world's richest man spends his cash

PROPERTY

1,788-room palace, six-star hotel, climate controlled stables for his 200 polo ponies, five aircraft hangars to house his 5,000 cars, a theme park
5 million pounds

What Michael Jackson was reportedly paid to attend the 25th birthday party of Prince Azim earlier this year

STAFF WAGE BILL

£1.25million to masseuses, acupuncturists

£13.9million to housekeepers

£1.26million to badminton coach

£5.86million to each of his five PR officers

£48,859 to guard his exotic birdcages

LUXURY CARS

531 Mercedes

367 Ferraris

362 Bentleys

185 BMWs

177 Jaguars

160 Porsches

130 Rolls-Royces

20 Lamborghinis

OTHER TRANSPORT

Two Boeings, including a 747-400 jumbo jet, one Airbus, six smaller planes, two helicopters (ANI)