In 2000, I obtained an exclusive interview with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, absolute ruler of an oil-rich jungle enclave on Borneo that has the world's fifth-highest per capita income, measured by local purchasing power.
The sultan agreed to meet me in his golden-domed, 1,788-room palace only because it was Brunei's turn to host the annual 21-country Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. The multibillionaire leader of 440,000 subjects, cruelly dubbed the Sultan of Bling by the Western media, wanted to show that he was up to the job.
