Powerful company runs Monaco’s day-to-day affairs

THINKING of buying a villa perched on Monaco’s craggy coastline, or opening a casino or a luxury hotel? Think again.

It takes more than a suitcase full of cash and connections to live or do business in this exclusive principality.

Much of Monaco's day-to-day affairs are run by the Societe des Bains de Mer et Du Cercle des Etrangers a Monaco, a powerful company that runs all five casinos and a vast array of other properties and is one of Monaco's biggest landlords. The ruling Grimaldi family headed by 81-year-old Prince Rainier, holds a 69.6% controlling stake in SBM, a publicly traded company, roughly translated in English as the Sea Bathing Society and Foreigners' Circle of Monaco.