Prince Alwaleed on his 83-day imprisonment

One of richest people world talks about his captivity by the Saudi Arabian government.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal suffered repeated setbacks on his way to becoming the richest investor in the Middle East and one of the most recognizable faces of Saudi Arabia. He went broke in the 1980s and lost billions of dollars on Citigroup Inc. during the 2008 financial crisis. But nothing compares to the humiliation he had to endure these past few months. Last November, Al-Waleed's uncle, King Salman, and his cousin, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, led a government raid on alleged fraudsters, embezzlers and money launderers, which resulted in Al-Waleed's detention and jailing for 83 days in what became the infamous Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh.

I saw Al-Waleed in late October, a week before he became a government prisoner. We spent the evening at his desert camp talking about financial markets and US politics, watching a football game on TV, walking along the sands and eating a late dinner in the cool midnight air. I returned to the kingdom in mid-March, seven weeks after his release. Al-Walid decided to break his silence and give an interview to Bloomberg Television.

The day before the interview, we held an informal meeting at his palace in Riyadh. I waited in the foyer, and the prince came down the grand staircase from the second floor. He was dressed simply: beige taub, brown sports jacket and sandals - and seemed relaxed. Over the next two hours, he talked about his “ordeals” while drinking Arabic coffee and ginger tea, and his five grandchildren sang and danced in the palace gym under Hot n Cold Katy Perry.

Early on the morning of November 4, Al-Walid, who had arrived at his camp for the weekend, received a call asking him to appear at the royal court. He left immediately, unaware of the trap. Sensational details of the anti-corruption crackdown were soon revealed, and news reports were abuzz with reports that among the hundreds of tycoons, government ministers and other princes detained at the Ritz-Carlton, Al-Waleed was the most prominent. Within three days, shares of his main company, Kingdom Holding Co. , fell by 21 percent.

Al-Waleed has become quite a catch for a government keen to show its people that no Saudi will escape accountability in the fight against free-eating and graft: his $17.1 billion fortune ranks him 65th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. And his international importance, forged through friendships and business partnerships with Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch and their ilk, rivals that of Prince Mohammed. Kingdom Holding's portfolio includes Four Seasons hotels and resorts, as well as Citigroup, Eurodisney, and Twitter. And the Rotana Group, which he separately controls, is the largest entertainment company in the Arab world.

The government posed the question bluntly: pay, sign a confession of guilt and be released, or refuse and languish in captivity. According to the Wall Street Journal, the cost of freeing Al-Waleed was six billion dollars. The negotiations were conducted in secret, and the government did not make any accusations or present any evidence. Critics said the captives were being denied due process and accused Prince Mohammed of waging a campaign of intimidation and extortion under the guise of fighting corruption.

Context

When the princes were locked up at the Ritz

Rumors began to emerge about ill-treatment and even torture at the Ritz-Carlton, which immediately made it to the pages of the Daily Mail Online and regional media. Therefore, when at the end of January the prince, still at the hotel, appeared in a certain video shot on a smartphone, exhausted and tired after two and a half months in prison, speculation only intensified. He said that he was being treated decently, but no one believed it. (Most recently, the New York Times, citing anonymous sources, reported that some detainees were physically abused and otherwise coerced into confessing, and one military officer in custody died with all the signs of a severe beating).

Since his release, Al-Waleed had gained a little weight and seemed more energetic, lively, and busy than ever. But from the conversation it becomes clear that he is trying his best to cope with what happened. Even if he is innocent—and he insists he is—the government has placed him in the same conditions as a group of crooks. And any complaint could cause anger, which he already faced directly.

We conducted the interview at a makeshift site in Al-Walid's apartment on the 67th floor of the Kingdom skyscraper in Riyadh. As I walked in, I thought about how frank he could be with me. Will he talk about his life at the Ritz-Carlton? Does the fact acknowledge any harm done to him? Did he have to make a deal with the devil to achieve his release? Can his words be trusted? What if the government threatened him? Will I be able to talk about this?

Below are excerpts from our conversation, which have had to be slightly edited for clarity.

Let's start with the obvious: why?

Al-Waleed's detention was mysterious compared to the others. Of all the arrested princes, he is the only one who never served in the government of Saudi Arabia, where kickbacks are considered commonplace. And unlike other businessmen, he was not a government contractor, and therefore could not inflate tariffs. He acquired most of his wealth transparently through real estate and as an investor in the public markets.

Eric Schatzker: First question: why were you arrested?

Prince Alwaleed: I wouldn't use that word because we were first invited to the palace and then asked to go to the Ritz-Carlton. Everything was done with honor and dignity, and in relation to everyone, not just me.

So, is it fair to use the word “arrest” only in relation to those who committed a crime and admitted guilt?

Exactly. And he reached an agreement with the government. But in my case, as you know, the situation is completely different.

So there were no charges? Have you been accused of anything at all?

There were no charges. Because I have a fiduciary responsibility to my shareholders in Kingdom Holding, my friends in Saudi Arabia and the entire global community, and in view of our widespread international investments, it is very important to state the absence of both blame and blame.

You have dubbed your ordeals a misunderstanding. What was it connected with?

I say “misunderstanding” because I think I shouldn’t have been there. Now that everything is over, I would say that all suspicions have been cleared from me. However, I must say that we have indeed reached full understanding with the government.

What does it mean?

This is confidential information and I cannot talk about it. But there is an understanding between me and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Does this require you to take certain actions?

Optional. Again, I cannot expand on this, since the information is secret and concerns only me and the government. But rest assured: this does not constrain me in any way.

What did the government want from you?

I will not go into details of the discussions that took place between myself and the government representatives.

They must have wanted something.

I read in the press that they allegedly wanted to snatch a certain piece from me. But these are all rumors.

According to one report, it was about six billion dollars.

I have read about six billion, and about larger and smaller amounts.

How much did freedom cost you? Have you been asked to pay the government any money, give up any possessions, or give up any shares?

You must respect the confidential agreement reached between me and the government of Saudi Arabia and based on confirmed mutual understanding.

I am a citizen of Saudi Arabia. And also a member of the royal family. The king is my uncle and Mohammed bin Salman is my cousin. I am interested in maintaining and keeping our relationship secret.

You maintain your innocence and say that you did not sign any plea agreement.

We actually signed a document, a confirmed mutual understanding. Some may call this a settlement agreement. I don’t think so, because in my understanding, an agreement is an admission that you did something wrong.

You, of course, understand how important it is to be honest and frank with me. If another version emerges, your credibility will suffer.

Of course.

So, everything you said is one hundred percent true?

I have a confirmed understanding with the government and it remains in effect. I will go into detail on this: this is an ongoing process with the government.

The question of Al-Waleed's reputation

Already, Kingdom Holding is talking to lenders about securing $2 billion in debt financing—the “firepower,” as the prince puts it, for the next deal.

These events have affected your reputation. No matter what you say in this interview, people will still be convinced that because you ended up at the Ritz-Carlton, you must be guilty of something. Understand this.

When you are detained, someone in the business or banking community is bound to raise concerns. My job now is to interact, meet all of them, whether privately or collectively, and tell my story.

I understand that it will not be easy, because some banks and representatives of the business community will continue to have doubts. However, I assure them that everything is fine, everything is back to normal and we are functioning as before.

It would certainly help if the government said: "Al-Waleed did nothing wrong, there was a misunderstanding, he did not buy his freedom and remains a Saudi citizen in good standing." But this did not happen.

Context

When the princes were locked up at the Ritz

Camels punished for Botox and other deceptions of the Arab world

What is the relationship between Hariri's resignation and the arrests of Saudi princes?

The confirmation of my words is the fact that I am speaking to you now, and speaking truthfully and honestly, and the fact that the government will not say: “Al-Waleed is wrong.”

So you feel the need to speak out in order to restore your good name because you have been slandered?

Firstly, I really need to restore my reputation, and secondly, I need to clarify many false points. For example, that I was tortured and sent to prison. This is a lie. I stayed at the hotel the entire time and was never tortured.

Inside the Ritz-Carlton Hotel

For three months, 381 Saudis remained locked inside the Ritz-Carlton, which has 492 rooms, 52 acres of land and giant meeting rooms. Many were quickly released. Al-Walid's stay was one of the longest. The prince says he was kept in room 628, a 4,575-square-foot (425 sq. m.) royal suite.

What have you been doing all this time?

Sports, walks, meditation, watching the news, prayers.

Describe one typical day.

I went to bed at 6-7 o'clock in the morning and woke up around noon. We prayed five times a day.

Did you have access to television and newspapers?

There was access to everything.

So, no one outside knew about what was happening inside, but you, being inside, knew about everything that was happening outside?

Exactly. That's why I managed to get information about the so-called torture.

So you weren't abused?

Not at all.

Are you sure that none of the detainees suffered from ill-treatment, torture or beatings?

Maybe someone was trying to escape or do something crazy. Perhaps such people were pacified and controlled. Quite possible. But there was nothing that could be called systematic torture.

Were you allowed to talk to other detainees?

No. No one at the Ritz-Carlton could talk to each other. Even in my case. I didn't see anyone, didn't talk to anyone.

You are allowed to make several calls. To whom and under what conditions?

I called my son, daughter and granddaughters. And I spoke with the heads of my companies, the CEO of Kingdom Holding, the head of my personal office and the general secretary of my foundation.

Were calls tracked?

Most likely yes.

Dealing with the Crown Prince

For more than 70 years, the Saudi throne passed from one brother to another, but Salman broke with the past by handing his son control of several government portfolios and making him crown prince last year. Prince Mohammed's plans include the Saudi Vision 2030 economic program, which could see Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, go public. Cinemas, banned since the early 1980s, have returned, and in some areas of Riyadh women are allowed to go bareheaded. And in June, for the first time since 1990, they will be allowed to drive cars.

What is it like to be captured by your own cousin?

It's not easy, I must admit. It's hard when you're being held against your will. But after being released, I had a very strange feeling. I gathered all the senior employees of my companies and those close to me and told them: “I swear to you that I am completely calm and peaceful and do not feel resentment or other bad feelings.”

And, of course, a day later we were again communicating with the royal court, the crown prince and his people. The situation is very strange, but that’s exactly what happened.

Is it because you just needed to move forward?

No. I am a patriot. I believe in my country. What happened will not make me turn against my uncle, my cousin, my country and my people.

How would you describe your relationship with Prince Mohammed?

They have become stronger. This affects many, even my own people.

Have you forgiven him?

I completely forgot and forgave everything that happened. Everything is left behind.

How often do you communicate with him?

At least once every three days I text him, call him or talk to him in person.

Do you talk to him once every three days?

We mostly text each other and talk less often. But we communicate every week.

Prince Mohammed has a grand plan to transform the Saudi economy and society. Do you still support him on this?

Yes. His vision absorbed many of my ideas, and he multiplied them. I floated the idea of ​​creating a sovereign wealth fund and talked about turning Aramco into a public joint stock company. Women's rights, their competitiveness in society, their driving - I called for all of this.

He is laying the foundation for a new era in Saudi Arabia. I personally consider any person who opposes what Mohammed bin Salman is doing to be a traitor.

Navigating the new Saudi Arabia

The crown prince has also become the largest Saudi investor, pouring tens of billions of government dollars into Uber Technologies Inc. and funds managed by Blackstone Group and SoftBank Group.

Does the government want you to create and maintain relationships with heads of state and CEOs of international companies?

I was released without being burdened with any conditions, and maintained contacts with many heads of state in Europe and the Middle East. Everything is fine.

Can you travel?

Of course I can.

Are you unsure if the government is monitoring your whereabouts?

I don't care.

What about your bank accounts?

Everything is back to normal.

You are looking for foreign investment, as is the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund. Isn't this competition?

In fact, in terms of participation in many projects, we maintain contact with the government. They have a plan big project in the Red Sea with resorts like the Maldives. There will also be Four Seasons hotels. We were also invited to take part in another Riyadh project, the construction of a huge Disney-style entertainment center.

We are involved in the hospitality, media and entertainment industries. So there is no competition, we complement each other.

What about joint investments? Will PIF invest alongside Kingdom Holding or perhaps Rotana or Prince Alwaleed himself?

Yes, this will happen. We are currently discussing certain projects with PIF.

Domestic projects or international ventures?

Internal for starters.

The Crown Prince visits Western countries, meets with Trump at the White House and tries to attract capital to Saudi Arabia. Given what happened to you at the Ritz-Carlton, how pleased are you to represent a united front with the government that got you there in the first place?

I support Saudi Arabia, I support my government, I support King Salman and Prince Mohammed in every way. This happened before, during and after the arrest.

People will have a hard time understanding this.

They don't understand that you are talking to a person who is a member of the royal family. We are all in the same boat here. On one side. We are the ruling family of Saudi Arabia.

I understand that from the point of view of ordinary citizens this sounds strange. They will definitely say, “Do you really still support the king and crown prince after being their prisoner?”

One needs to think about how willing business executives will be to invest in Saudi Arabia after witnessing this type of dispute resolution.

I'll let them decide for themselves. On my own behalf, I can say this: business is progressing as usual, and we will continue to invest in Saudi Arabia.

Eric Schatzker- Canadian presenter and editor of Bloomberg Television, has 15 years of experience covering events in the world of investment and economics.

InoSMI materials contain assessments exclusively from foreign media and do not reflect the position of the InoSMI editorial staff.

Childhood

Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was born on March 7, 1955 into a royal family, the rank, title or occupation of each member of which is truly impressive.

His father, Prince Talal ibn Abdel Aziz, was Minister of Finance; in the 60s he opposed the current government of King Faisal as part of the liberal movement. His grandfather is Riad Al-Solh famous politician, former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Al-Waleed's uncle Salman is the reigning king of Saudi Arabia, and his maternal cousins ​​are the princes of Morocco - Moulay Hisham Angle and Moulay Ismail.

The baby was not yet four when his parents decided to divorce. Prince Al-Walid stayed with his mother, Princess Monica, and soon they moved to Beirut, where the guy spent his childhood.

Education

As befits children in royal families, Al-Walid received a prestigious education. He went to America to study, where he chose Menlo College in San Francisco to study. Here he received his bachelor's degree, after which he went to Syracuse University in New York. Here he studied social sciences with world-famous teachers.

The young prince liked life in America - he quickly got used to it, fell in love with business style clothing, fast food and Coca-Cola. It seemed pointless for a young, active and educated young man to return to his homeland.

Starting a business career and its successful continuation

Prince Al-Waleed began his commercial activities in 1979. Taking out a loan of $350,000, he began providing intermediary services to foreign firms that planned to cooperate with Saudi Arabia. Thanks to the prince’s close relationship with quite influential people in the country, his debut in the business world turned out to be quite successful. In addition to mediation, Al-Walid was involved in the purchase and resale of plots of land. In 1980, Al-Waleed bin Talal founded the Kingdom company.

One of the prince's most famous and successful investments was Citibank. In the 1990s, Al-Walid acquired a significant part of the shares of Citibank, which at that time was in extremely difficult financial situation. By investing almost all of his investments in Citibank, he saved it from complete collapse. Subsequently, more than half of Al-Walid’s fortune was precisely this company, which he once saved from falling.

The prince's next successful acquisition was a stake in Citigroup preferred shares. Having bought the company's shares for almost nothing, Al-Walid made the right decision - at the beginning of 1994, the shares literally soared in price, which significantly increased Al-Walid's capital.

The prince has been seen more than once in collaboration with Bill Gates and Microsoft, and he is also famous for his generous investments in media companies.

"Arabian Warren Buffett"

Prince Alwaleed is often compared to another successful businessman, Warren Buffett, due to his impressive investment acumen. However, these two investors do not have much in common: Al-Walid, if you look at it, has very few high-profile investments, and the most successful of them is still the same Citigroup. Buffett became famous for dozens of large transactions.

These two businessmen are very different in their attitude to luxury. Warren Buffett lives in a house worth just over 30 thousand dollars, while the prince has a luxurious palace valued at more than 100 million. Also, Al-Walid, like most eastern billionaires, has a weakness for expensive cars, private jets and luxury yachts. In 2012, the prince once again recalled his love for luxury by purchasing the only example of an elite aircraft to date. Al-Walid now owns a personal Airbus-380 aircraft.

Forbes scandal

The annual ranking published by Forbes magazine in 2013, as usual, consisted of people whose wealth has long been estimated in the billions. An Arabian businessman was also on the list. But if, according to the calculations of the editors of the publication, the prince’s assets amounted to 20 billion (he took 26th place in the hundred), then he himself announced a figure of 29 billion dollars. A difference of almost ten billion could significantly affect its place in the ranking.

It is reported that Prince Al-Waleed sent a letter general director Forbes, in which he uncompromisingly asked that his name no longer appear in the publication’s rankings. Not this year, not any other. Then he openly stated that he did not trust the publication, and the methods of assessing the condition used by journalists were absolutely incorrect and incorrect.

Forbes management did not tolerate such antics that undermined the authority of the publication. Literally a few days later, a detailed article about Al-Walid was published on the official website of the magazine, which outlined a different point of view on the current situation. According to the publication, the prince is too fixated on his own image, so long before the publication of the list, Al-Walid’s PR managers demanded that the prince’s fortune be assessed based on the data of his personal lawyers.

Charity

In 2015, the news spread around the world that Prince Al-Waleed of Saudi Arabia, who was in his seventies, donated almost all of his fortune acquired during his life to charity. According to preliminary estimates, about 32 billion were written off from the billionaire’s accounts. He admitted that his example was Bill Gates, who also generously “shares” his personal fortune with his brainchild, the Gates Foundation. “This is my duty to humanity,” the prince said, mentioning that charity is an inherent honor of his faith - Islam.

The donated funds will be used to build hospitals, schools, orphanages, to help countries affected by natural disasters, to help single mothers and other groups of people in need.

Personal life

Not much is known about the personal life of Prince Al-Waleed: he was married three times, but is currently not married. From his first wife, named Delal, the prince has a son and a daughter. His next chosen one was Iman al-Sudairi; in this marriage, Al-Walid did not have children. Amira Al-Tawil was chosen as the third wife - a very extraordinary person, although not of royal blood. Amira became the first princess in Saudi Arabia to refuse to wear the traditional dress of Saudi women, the abaya. The Princess actively supports organizations and projects fighting for women's rights around the world.

Unfortunately, in the winter of 2014, the marriage of Princess Amira and Prince Al-Walid was dissolved. Rumor has it that the couple entered into a marriage contract, according to which Princess Amira could not have children. Most likely, this was the main reason for the divorce.

Prince Khalid ibn al-Walid al-Saud is a typical hipster. He wears Converse sneakers and a hoodie, takes Uber, and doesn't eat animal products. He has a goal in life - to rid the world of animal farms. And he also has huge cash to achieve this goal.

ALEXEY ALEXEEV

student child

Few people in Russia have heard the name of the Saudi prince Khalid ibn al-Walid al-Saud. There is no article about him in the Russian-language Wikipedia, and a Russian-language Google search produces several articles from vegetarian sites and thousands of links to articles about the prince’s father, a multibillionaire investor.

Prince Khalid ibn al-Walid al-Saud was born in 1978 in California. Not the most common place of birth for a member of the Saudi royal family, right? How did he get there?

This story can begin from the middle of the last century. Since John Russell, a professor at the little-known American Menlo College, decided to spend his vacation in Saudi Arabia. He told Saudi acquaintances that he works in a small private business school, which gives very good prices for a lot of money. good education. The professor could hardly have predicted what would happen next.

Soon the first students from Saudi Arabia appeared at the college. After the oil boom of the 1970s, their numbers began to grow rapidly. To date, more than 100 members of the Saudi royal family have graduated from Menlo College. Other elite Saudi families also began sending their sons to study at Menlo, and one family even decided to give an American education to their daughter! Statistically, the percentage of Saudi Arabian students in the college population is higher than that of any other US institution.

In 1975, Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, grandson of the founder and first king of Saudi Arabia, entered the college. Years later, this prince, an MBA from Menlo College, would be called Saudi Arabia's Warren Buffett.

The prince will argue with Forbes magazine because it understates the size of his fortune. The magazine's latest estimate puts it at $18.7 billion, making Prince al-Waleed the 45th richest person on the planet. Bloomberg in November estimated his fortune at $17.8 billion.

But then, 43 years ago, he was just a moderately well-fed young man who came to California to learn how to make money. The following year, student al-Walid married his cousin Dalal. Their firstborn was Prince Khalid.

From college to university

Having received his bachelor's degree, Prince al-Walid, his wife and one-year-old son returned to their homeland. He completed his master's degree at Syracuse University in sociology in absentia. In his free time from studying, he worked part-time. Mortgaged the house given by his father. Sold a necklace given by his father to his wife. Invested the money wisely. He was involved in real estate, construction, and bought banks. Slowly he became an international investor and became a billionaire.

His only son and heir, Prince Khalid, lived with his father in the palace. When Prince Khalid was four years old, he had a younger sister, Reem. A little later, the parents divorced. Then dad married again and divorced again.

In 1997, a family consisting of a single father with two teenage children celebrated their housewarming by moving into a new palace in the center of Riyadh. There were 317 rooms in the palace, almost every one had a TV. Italian marble, oriental carpets, gold taps in the bathrooms, five kitchens (for Lebanese, Arabic, European Continental and Asian dishes and a separate one for sweets). In the courtyard there is a swimming pool, in the basement there is a cinema hall. The single father also had a yacht purchased from the American developer Donald Trump, several personal planes and three hundred cars, and one Rolls Royce was considered his daughter’s.

Even when buying a personal yacht, Prince Al-Waleed showed himself to be a talented investor. He purchased it at a reduced price from the developer D. Trump during a falling real estate market. In the photo - Prince Al-Walid with his son Khalid and daughter Reem

Photo: Balkis Press/ABACAPRESS/Kommersant

Of course, Princess Reem didn't drive it herself. Not because she was 15 years old, but because the laws of the kingdom prohibited women from driving.

In the year of the housewarming, Prince Khalid turned 19. And two important events took place in his life, which largely determined the future of the prince. Following in his father's footsteps, he entered an American business school. True, not to Menlo College, popular among the Saudi elite, but to the University of New Haven. Then he worked in a bank and moved to his father’s investment holding Kingdom Holding Company.

But my father’s example in another area of ​​life turned out to be even more important. Despite five kitchens and a crowd of chefs capable of preparing dinner for 2,000 people in an hour, Prince Al-Walid decided that he needed to lose weight and generally lead a healthy lifestyle.

If as a student he weighed 90 kg, then along with billions of dollars came additional kilograms. Al-Walid began counting calories. Islam did not allow him to drink alcohol, and his own beliefs did not allow him to smoke. The great investor became a vegetarian.

Livestock farms - consigned to the dustbin of history

“Prince Khalid is considered to have Western, progressive views on many issues, including the role of women in Saudi society. He, like his father, has a business mind, but at the same time he is simple and sweet.” This characterization of Prince Khalid is contained in the files of the private American intelligence and analytical company Stratfor, published by WikiLeaks. Journalists who interviewed him write the same thing about the prince.

In Saudi Arabia he wears traditional clothes, but in America he wears jeans, a hoodie, a baseball cap and black Converse sneakers (the top is, of course, made from artificial leather). True, during trips abroad he lives in Four Seasons hotels, which can hardly be called budget. But he does this not at all out of a desire to spend extra money, but on the contrary, out of savings: his father is a co-owner of this network.

The prince most clearly demonstrated his progressive Western views in 2005, when he married a girl not from the royal family, but from a simple family - the daughter of the country's finance minister.

Khalid is not just the heir to his father's business empire. In 2013, he founded his own company, KBW Investments. He has business interests on all continents. But in addition to investing in traditional business areas (construction, mining, automotive, hospitality, media), Prince Khalid also invests in high technology - mobile payments, smartphone applications, energy saving. He helped launch TechnoBuffalo, a popular website dedicated to consumer electronics and new technologies.

The prince is very concerned about environmental problems. He has abandoned investments in oil and gas, an industry primarily associated with Saudi Arabia. He has only one car - a Tesla electric car. Outside his native kingdom, he prefers Uber. Khalid believes that the world is facing an environmental disaster due to climate change, caused in particular by excessive meat consumption.

In 2008, Khalid watched two American documentaries: Food, Inc. and Food. The price of the issue" (Food Matters). The first talks about how inhumane the meat industry is and what harm it causes to the environment. The second is about which foods benefit the body and which cause harm. According to the prince, the films literally opened his eyes. The prince had another reason to think about food. Khalid at that time weighed 105 kg. His blood cholesterol levels were greatly elevated. Thanks to veganism, he lost weight to 82 kg in seven months and brought his cholesterol back to normal. Before and after photos are now posted on his Facebook.

Last summer, Prince Khalid said in an interview: “My main goal is to send livestock farms to the dustbin of history. This must happen in my lifetime."

The prince estimates that he can achieve the goal within 10 years through strategic investments in new agricultural methods that will provide the world's population with enough plant-based proteins.

Shortly before this interview, the prince started a page on Facebook. It opens with the motto: “Stand up for what you believe in, even if you do it alone.” However, he is not alone. Prince Khalid managed to convince his father to become not just a vegetarian, but a vegan.

As Prince Khalid writes on his Facebook, if the world sticks to the traditional diet, disaster is inevitable: “We must boycott fast food restaurants and take care of our health and the health of our children before this disaster occurs.”

Last February, the first vegan gourmet restaurant opened in the Kingdom of Bahrain with a very simple name - Cafe Plant. It's also the first outside North America restaurant of chef Matthew Kenny, guru of raw-vegan cuisine.

Prince Khalid initially thought of paying a franchise to an American chef, but then he came up with a better idea - investing in the Kenny restaurant chain. The Cafe Plant restaurant became part of this chain. It is conveniently located opposite the most prestigious English-medium school in the country.

Thanks to Prince Khalid, the first vegan restaurant opened in Bahrain, part of the chain of establishments of the legendary chef Matthew Kenny (pictured in the center)

Photo: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for NYCWFF

Over the past year, many rave reviews about the restaurant have appeared on travel websites. Everyone, even people who are far from vegan, unanimously admire the taste of the dishes, but not everyone is delighted with the prices.

Prince Khalid intends to increase the number of such restaurants in the region to 10 by 2020. He realizes that this will not change the situation much, but it will be a step in the right direction.

The prince financed the filming of the documentary “Eating Our Way To Extinction” (“If we eat like this, we will become extinct”). The film is planned to be released this year. Another documentary film, which is being filmed with the prince's money, is dedicated to UFC mixed martial arts champion James Wilkes and other vegan athletes. Prince Khalid believes that documentaries can influence viewers to change their views, as he once did.

Last May, he attended a summit in New York for the Reducetarian Foundation, a foundation that advocates for a global reduction in meat consumption to protect human health, environment and humanization of livestock farming.

Last September, Prince Khalid's company was among investors who put $17 million into San Francisco-based startup Memphis Meats. This company is working on technology to create “clean meat” grown from animal cells in the laboratory. Among the investors who supported the startup are Bill Gates, Richard Branson and the Draper Fisher Jurvetson venture fund, which previously invested in Baidu, SpaceX, Tesla, and Twitter. Interestingly, the foundation is based next door to the town of Atherton in Silicon Valley, where Prince Khalid was born 40 years ago.

That same month, the prince became a member of the board of directors of the Hampton Creek food company, which produces and sells vegetarian food products. The company is also developing “clean meat” and plans to bring it to market this year.

One day, Prince Khalid walked into the vegan cafe Life"n One in Dubai. The cafe has a slate board on which visitors can write their continuation of the sentence “Before I die, I want...”

The prince wrote: "End animal farms."

Al-Waleed bin Talal, Photo: Hamad I Mohammed / Reuters

Saudi prince. The richest man in the East of the 20th century. In 2012, he occupied 8th (according to other sources, 5th) place in the list of the richest businessmen on the planet. According to Bill Gates, he is the luckiest entrepreneur in the world.

The high-profile names of American and European business stars somewhat obscure the names of natives of other continents, although many of them occupy far from the last place in the business world of the planet. Our readers, as well as foreign ones, are little familiar with, for example, “business sharks” from the Middle East. Nevertheless, they are of great interest. Among them, one of the first places belongs to the Saudi Prince Al Walid, one of the world's largest investors and nephew of the current King of Saudi Arabia, Fahd.

Despite the fact that newspapermen dubbed him the “Prince of Glasnost,” little is known about him. Along with other Middle Eastern multi-billionaires, he is not keen on flaunting his privacy and is not prone to self-promotion. Al Walid's biography, personal characteristics and business skills are known only in the most general terms.

The prince's full name is Al Waleed ibn Talal ibn Abdel Aziz Al Saud. His grandfather was the country's founder, Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, and his father was Prince Talal ibn Abdel Aziz, minister of finance. In the 60s he led a group of so-called “liberal princes” who opposed the policies of the then reigning King Faisal, and found himself in disgrace.

Al Waleed's mother, Princess Mona, is the daughter of Lebanese Prime Minister Riad Solha. When his parents divorced, the boy, who had a hard time experiencing this breakup, remained with his mother and was raised in Lebanon, the most democratic and Europeanized of the Middle Eastern countries. This undoubtedly had an impact on the formation of his personality. However, on the eve of the civil war in Lebanon 1975-1990. Al Walid became interested in the national idea and almost became a supporter of Yasser Arafat. But then my father intervened. He urgently called his son to Riyadh and got him a job military academy named after King Abdulaziz.

The young man did not like this choice. However, the strict laws of devout Islam required him to completely submit to the will of his father. Many years later he realized Talal was right. The Academy saved the prince from involvement in terrorism and made him a citizen of the world in the highest sense of that meaning. In addition, studying there helped him acquire self-discipline skills that are essential for every businessman.

After graduating from the academy, Al Walid, as a representative of a disgraced family, could not count on a high position in the government apparatus or in the political field. Pride did not allow him to agree to minor roles, so the young man chose to leave his native place and went overseas. He spent several years at Merlot College in California and Syracuse University, where he received a bachelor's degree in business administration and then a master's degree in political science and economics. However scientific career did not become the prince’s main motivation in life.

In 1979, Al Walid returned to his homeland, shaken by the “land fever”. With only $15,000 donated by his father, he founded the Kingdom Company and began land speculation, which brought in $2 million in net income.

After the death of his father, the young man inherited a house that was mortgaged for $1.5 million. In 1986, having pooled funds, Al Walid, following American models, unexpectedly bought up the Saudi Arabian commercial bank. Further manipulations with securities and shares caused a sensation in Saudi Arabia. The prince was predicted to go bankrupt. However, just two years later the second-rate bank made a profit, and soon absorbed the Saudi Cairo Bank, which had previously been many times larger than it in terms of turnover.

Al-Waleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al-Saud is perhaps the most famous among the more than two thousand Saudi princes. The prince stated that he started the business with 30 thousand dollars that his father gave him. Al-Walid, in his own words, only had a house and a loan for 300 thousand dollars.

The investor, however, does not mention whether the royal family directly helped him. Apparently, something fell into the hands of the heir, because in 1991 he bought a stake in Citicorp (now Citigroup) for $800 million. This package became al-Walid's main asset. According to Bloomberg, the prince bought shares at $2.98 per share. By 2007, the securities had risen in price to $42, and the value of al-Walid's share exceeded ten billion dollars.

In 2007, the prince decided to organize an IPO (initial public offering) of his company Kingdom Holding. Only five percent of the shares were sold to investors. At the same time, there were no motives for bringing the company to the stock exchange: al-Walid did not need additional funds or increased capital liquidity. He also had no need to please his partners, who could sell their shares as part of the IPO.

The prince has been nicknamed "Arabia's Warren Buffett", a reference to his investment acumen. However, these two investors have little in common: al-Waleed, in fact, has only one high-profile investment in securities - an investment in Citicorp, while Buffett is known for several successful transactions. They also differ greatly in their attitude to luxury. For example, Buffett still lives in a house worth 31.5 thousand dollars, while the prince castle for 100 million. Al-Waleed is also known for his passion for luxury cars, yachts and airplanes.

Perhaps the only thing the two investors have in common is their desire for transparency. True, Buffett declares all income out of personal conviction (he is considered one of the most honest businessmen) and because the law requires it, but al-Walid has slightly different motives.

Transparency is nothing, image is everything

Image is perhaps the most important thing for al-Walid after money. Forbes writes about this in a separate article, which became a kind of response to the claims of the Arab businessman.

Thus Al Waleed became the pioneer of modern banking in Arabia. The next, and no less successful, stage was the purchase of Arabian real estate. Currently, the cost of buildings owned by Al Walid, including the three-hundred-meter skyscraper in the center Arabian capital, which houses the King Faisal Charitable Trust, totals more than $53 million.

And yet, the basis of the prince’s initial capital was not speculation. land plots and not manipulation of securities. By his own admission, the greatest income came from the so-called “commissions” received for concluding transactions, which are very common in the Middle East. Here, no company, local or foreign, can obtain contracts without the help of princes or other high-ranking persons, and this is not considered reprehensible. The amount of such commission bribes is usually 30% of the contract value. The prince continues to use this source of income, despite the huge profits from his enterprises. For example, in 2000, commissions amounted to $40 million out of a total income of $500 million. And, according to Al Waleed, he earned all this money honestly and in abundance.

But let's return to the beginning of Al Waleed's entrepreneurial activity. It seemed to him that there were few successes in the Middle East. At the age of thirty-four, while Desert Storm was raging in the region, the prince made his debut on the global investment market. For $590 million, he bought a 9.9% stake in America's largest bank, Citicorp, which was experiencing serious difficulties. It became a sensation. Experienced analysts shrugged their shoulders, viewed the prince’s actions as a gamble and considered them the whim of an overly rich man. However, after 7 years, the value of the stake he purchased increased 12 times, and Forbes magazine, echoed by Bill Gates, ranked Al Walid among the most successful businessmen in the world. Approximately the same thing was repeated over the following years: Al Waleed was predicted to collapse financially, nevertheless, all his undertakings invariably brought huge dividends.

In the summer of 1994, Al Walid's name was again on the front pages of business news. He invested $350 million in shares of the Euro-Disney amusement park, which is under threat of bankruptcy, located near Paris. The prince suggested that the fall in the company's shares was due to a temporary economic downturn in Europe. As a result, he became the owner of 24.8% of the shares, which a year later were worth $600 million on the market.

The prince's sphere of activity is not limited to trading on the securities exchange. Together with Michael Jackson, he organized a joint corporation called the Kingdom of Entertainment. In the second half of the 90s. became actively involved in the hotel business that had long interested him, acting as a major shareholder in the project of the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain. Since then, Al Waleed has continuously made solid contributions to this field. As a result, a global holding of luxury hotels was created, the capital of which is estimated at $1 billion. Today the prince owns 50% of the shares of the Fairmont group, 30% of the Swiss hotel chain Movenpick, 25% of the Four Seasons hotel chain. The prince is the owner of more than twenty luxury hotels in different countries of Europe and America. Among them are the famous George V hotels in Paris, the Inn on the Park in London and the Plaza in New York.

In the spring of 2000, when Wall Street saw a record drop in major stock market indicators and the threat of huge financial losses loomed over high-tech investors in Saudi Arabia, the prince was not afraid. The experienced stockbroker was confident that the situation would improve and the shares would creep up again. A month later he had already invested a billion dollars in 15 worldwide famous companies operating in the field of new technologies and communications, and at the same time acquired shares of the most popular Internet providers that were on the verge of bankruptcy. It is known that Al Waleed, together with Bill Gates and Craig McCaw, took part in the Teledesic megaproject, which provides access to the Internet from anywhere on the planet.

Currently, his investments have reached $17 billion. Rumor has it that in the future the prince intends to rush to Africa, seeing profitable opportunities for investment there.

No one can answer the question of how much Al Waleed is “worth” now. Usually the figures are from 20 to 25 billion dollars. His huge empire includes Saudi and foreign banks, television channels and publishing houses, enterprises involved in construction, hotel, tourism, agriculture, retail trade, production of automobiles and industrial equipment, production electronic technology, computers and computer programs.

This largest of modern businessmen, despite a certain Europeanization, is very religious. At his own expense, he built a luxurious mosque in Riyadh. His wives were never photographed, as this is not allowed by religion. Observing the laws of Islam, Al Waleed does not drink, does not smoke, does not buy shares of companies that produce tobacco and alcohol products, and does not play roulette.

But in a number of cases, when business demands it, Al Walid prefers to take a liberal approach to the problems of Islam. Without playing himself, the prince makes huge profits from gambling. True, he deliberately spends this money on charity. Contrary to the opinion of Muslim jurists, Al Walid does not consider it sinful to provide money at interest (any of his banks does this).

Al Walid is also not alien to some of the traits inherent in his fellow Western billionaires. IN lately he is clearly eager to impress the world. His intention to build a 300 m high skyscraper with a top shaped like the eye of a needle in Riyadh is widely known. The latter, apparently, was designed only to fly through it on a jet plane. Moreover, Al Walid wants to do this himself.

The prince categorically refuses to interfere in politics. Indeed, among his partners there are many Jews, which is not typical for a Muslim. At the same time, it is known that the prince donated $27 million to the needs of Palestinians fighting against the occupation of lands seized by Israel. He did not stand aside from the assessment of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States, making it clear that he considers America, which supports Israel, to be guilty of the causes of this tragedy. He said: “The US government must reconsider its Middle East policy and take a more balanced position towards the Palestinians.” At the same time, Al Waleed decided to donate $10 million to the people affected by the terrorist attack. Outraged, New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani rejected the money, calling the prince's statement "completely irresponsible," "dangerous," and "unfriendly to American politics." In response, the prince reiterated his position, saying that "the United States must understand the causes and roots of terrorism and their connection with the Palestinian problem." Then he handed the New York City Hall a check for $10 million and said that he would not give another cent if he was refused again. According to a number of Western commentators, this whole story looks like blackmail on the part of the Saudi multimillionaire: after all, he is one of the largest investors in the US economy.

Al Walid created his empire in a very short term- in just 20 years. In business circles, this is explained by his penchant for risk, but justified risk. He buys shares of the world's leading corporations at a time when they are experiencing difficulties. At the same time, he acts very decisively, but always knows where and when to strike.

It is clear to everyone that Al Waleed has enormous personal wealth. As is usual in the business world, he answers questions about the origins of his enormous fortune in full accordance with the stereotypical American legend: “I achieved everything myself, through hard work, and I’m proud of it.” However, rumors are circulating in the business world that the entire royal family is behind the prince and does not want to advertise their participation in business ventures. This, however, remains unproven. Al Walid himself considers belonging to the Saudi dynasty a blessing from Allah, since it is the custodian of the two main shrines of Islam - Mecca, where the sacred stone of the Kaaba is kept, and Medina, where the tomb of the Prophet Mohammed is located.

More than anything else, the prince values ​​reliable information. Its skillful use is one of the main and real secrets of his success. Al Walid does not skimp on obtaining information. His team is about 400 people, on whose maintenance the prince spends $1 million a month. These top-class professionals accompany him always and everywhere, even during trips, creating a whole caravan of special vehicles - a very impressive spectacle.

The prince himself explains the reasons for his success very simply. In an interview with the correspondent of the French magazine “Paris-Match” Elisabeth Chavele, he said: “I work a lot when necessary - 15-20 hours in a row... And one more thing: if you are successful in business, then new business will come to you. I am religious and this is a valuable help for me. If you prosper thanks to Allah, then you must always remain humble and help the poor, otherwise Allah will punish you.”

Al Walid's high performance is confirmed by his daily routine. Every day he gets up at 10 a.m., then does fifteen minutes of exercise and has breakfast. From 11 to 16 hours he works in the office, from 16 to 17 - lunch and a short rest. From 7 pm to 2 am he works in the office again. The next three hours are devoted to exercise, jogging and swimming in the pool, lunch and prayer. The prince goes to bed at 5 o'clock in the morning. He despises sleep, considering these hours lost for business.

This person, more like a robot, is virtually never distracted by anything not related to work or maintaining performance. It’s not for nothing that he even considers business and only business his hobby.

The prince eats little and does not overindulge in delicacies. His self-characterization is known: “I am a calorie counter,” which means refusing everything that exceeds a certain norm that he has set for himself.

Al Walid’s personal life, according to the press, did not work out. He was married twice and both times unsuccessfully. Marriages ended in divorce. Apparently hinting at the Europeans’ belief that every rich Muslim should have a huge harem, the prince answers journalists’ questions that he has 100 wives and that their portraits adorn the walls of his office. However, these “portraits” depict the emblems of companies owned by the prince.

Al Waleed lives alone, but adores his children, nineteen-year-old Khaled and fifteen-year-old Reem. For them, he built a palace of 317 rooms and collected a collection of three hundred cars. He bought a luxurious blue Rolls-Royce especially for Rome.

The prince-businessman spends his leisure time on the French Riviera or in his own villa near the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, in the company of Bedouins. He and his friends drink the strongest Arabic coffee and, according to rumors, talk about eternity. But this does not prevent the prince from going through short time again plunge into the fussy and tough world of business, very far from philosophy and thoughts about the divine destiny of man.

In 2012, Prince bought himself a plane for $485 million. This is an exclusive version of the Airbus 380 aircraft, nicknamed the “Flying Palace” for its luxury.

One of the richest people in the world, Saudi prince and businessman Al-Waleed bin Talal will receive the airliner in the very near future.

The three-story ship has conference and banquet halls, a five-room royal apartment, and a prayer room equipped with virtual prayer mats that automatically orient themselves in the direction of Mecca. A special elevator will take the owner to the lower floor, where the Rolls-Royce garage is located.

One of the richest people in the world, Saudi prince and businessman Al-Waleed bin Talal, will soon receive an exclusive version of the Airbus-380 aircraft he ordered for $485 million. The winged car was nicknamed the “Flying Palace” for its luxury.

The three-story airliner houses conference and banquet halls, a five-room royal apartment, and a prayer room. It is equipped with virtual prayer mats that automatically orient themselves in the direction of Mecca.

The interior of one of al-Walid's planes Photo: Waseem Obaidi / Getty Images

A special elevator will take the owner of the aircraft to the lower floor. There is a garage for a Rolls-Royce car there, RIA Novosti reports.

So far, the “Flying Palace” exists in a single copy.

However, Airbus hopes that the acquisition of the Palace by Prince bin Talal will be a good advertisement for this luxury aircraft, and orders for it will not be long in coming.

Interior of one of al-Waleed's planes, Photo: Waseem Obaidi/Getty Images

He owns a collection of 200 cars, which are painted in every color of the rainbow and are driven on a certain day of the week. By the way, the car garage is shaped like an ancient Egyptian pyramid.

He also has the world's largest truck, which has four bedrooms in the cab. Another giant car is a motor home, it has the shape globe, and its dimensions are exactly a millionth of the size of planet Earth.

Inside the largest private jet in the world there was room for a concert hall, a Turkish bath and even a beloved Rolls Royce. Imagine the perfect private jet - no lines, a big reclining seat, maybe a glass of chilled champagne. Trite?

Add four-poster beds, a Turkish bath for four people, and parking for a Rolls Royce. And this is all without mentioning the meeting room with projection screens and the concert hall on board.
Costing $500 million, the A380 was expected to be the world's largest private jet when completed.

The owner is unknown to the public, but they say he loves to fly. One of the possible owners is the Saudi Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal, owner of the Savoy hotel chain. The design is developed by the famous Design-Q agency. In a space typically designed to accommodate 600 passengers, the owner and his guests will enjoy five-star service throughout the journey. A personal car will naturally be parked at the highest level - right on the plane.

The elevator from the plane descends directly to the asphalt - stairways are a thing of the past. The ceremonial occasion is marked by a plethora of lights – “to give the impression of being ascended to Olympus,” says Design-Q co-founder Harry Doy.

The entire ground floor of the A380 has been converted into a relaxation area, including a marble-clad hammam. True, to reduce weight, a stone two millimeters thick was used. Next door is the “positive room” - so it was called due to the fact that the walls and floor here have turned into a giant screen - a real royal view. Guests can stand on an improvised “magic carpet” and watch the landscape float by, moreover, even feel a light breeze, created artificially for greater effect.

If work is truly unavoidable, a meeting room is on hand, with iTouch screens and online stock quotes projected on the tables. For conference calls, a business partner on the ground can join the meeting via video conference at any time.

The set of royal needs is truly an imperial five:
- entertainment system,
- prayer room with a projection of Mecca in the middle,
- elevator shuttle,
- concert hall with a piano for 10 seats,
- as well as a garage.

There is also a small hotel inside - 20 first class beds for additional guests. According to the designers, they will be stylized to resemble the graceful curves and swirls of Arabic writing. The creators of this air palace themselves say: “We are not trying to put a hotel in the air, all this was created in accordance with the needs of the flight, and has characteristic features, which fit into the concept of air travel. The Turkish bath here is especially interesting - the steam room with marble and dim lighting helps to relax perfectly.”

The richest people in the world often delight themselves with pleasant “trifles.” Not long ago, Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan al-Nahyan came from ruling dynasty Abu Dhabi immortalized his name in an unusual way. He wrote it in kilometer-long letters, which can be seen even from space, on an island in the Persian Gulf five kilometers from Abu Dhabi.

There is another famous Arab billionaire known in the world as the Rainbow Sheikh. To him owns a collection of 200 cars that are painted in all the colors of the rainbow and are operated on a specific day of the week. By the way, the car garage is shaped like an ancient Egyptian pyramid. He also has the world's largest truck, which has four bedrooms in the cab. Another giant car is a house on wheels; it is shaped like a globe, and its dimensions are exactly a millionth of the size of planet Earth.

Look here in more detail - the sheikh and

Let us now return again to our prince. Back in 2011, it became known that Kingdom Holding, owned by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, signed a contract for the construction of the Kingdom Tower skyscraper in Saudi Arabia, the height of which will exceed 1000 meters.

The tallest skyscraper in the world - Kingdom Tower will rise more than 1 km. over the city of Jeddah, off the coast of the Red Sea. The tower will include hotels, residential apartments, offices and the world's highest observation deck. Adrian Smith was appointed as the chief architect of the project; he also designed the Burj Khalifa, as well as a number of other skyscrapers in the USA, China and the UAE (see his website). Amount Prisoner Kingdom Holding The contract is valued at $1.2 billion. Kingdom Tower will be the central and first stage of construction of the area Kingdom City, in the construction of which the Saudi prince is ready to invest a total of $20 billion.

Azzam

Length (m) 180

Speed ​​in knots 30

Number of guests 22

The launch of the 180-meter boat took place in April 2013, now it is the largest yacht in the world, Roman Abramovich's Eclipse has lost its crown. The huge yacht, capable of reaching a speed of 30 knots, was built at the German Lurssen shipyard in record time - in just three years. Azzam cost the owner (rumored to be Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal) more than $600 million.

At the beginning of March 2013, Forbes published its annual ranking of the richest people on the planet. Often, it is from this list that businessmen find out how much their assets are worth in total. Moreover, not only the rich themselves, but the whole world will learn about this. Not all billionaires like this arrangement - many would prefer not to attract unnecessary attention. “Money loves silence,” businessmen often say, but one of the richest people on the planet, Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, clearly disagrees with this. The Arab investor, ranked 26th in the 2013 Forbes ranking, claims that the magazine underestimated his wealth by a third - to twenty billion dollars.

Al-Walid's former employees told Forbes that Kingdom Holding's IPO was also for image purposes. “It's great to take the company public. They write a lot about you in the press,” one of his former employees explained the investor’s motives. Forbes rating is for the prince (as well as for the whole world) the main measure of success. Al-Waleed regularly collaborated with the magazine, providing every opportunity to evaluate his assets.

In 2006, Forbes determined that al-Waleed's fortune had decreased by seven billion dollars due to the collapse of Kingdom Holding shares. Then the prince called editor Kerry Dolan and “almost in tears” asked her to check the value of his assets again, apparently hoping for a mistake and a higher place in the ranking.

This year, everything happened according to a similar scenario: the prince tried with all his might to prove that his condition should be assessed according to his own data. Meanwhile, the magazine's editors discovered one interesting pattern: shares of Kingdom Holding - the prince's key asset - rose in price for several years in a row 2.5 months before the publication of the billionaires ranking. Given the closed nature of the Saudi stock market and the small number of shares in free float (five percent), an investor could easily manipulate quotes, inflating his wealth. This information was confirmed to the publication by unnamed sources; The audit company Ernst & Young also drew attention to the discrepancy between the real value of assets and market quotes.

As a result, Forbes decided to focus on assessing al-Walid's underlying assets - shares in Four Seasons, Movenpick, Fairmont Raffles and other shares, as well as hotels and other real estate. Calculations showed that Kingdom Holding is worth $10.6 billion, that is, almost two times less than the capitalization calculated using market quotes. To this amount was added the value of assets not included in Kingdom Holding, as well as cars, planes, yachts and other luxury items. Ultimately, the publication decided that al-Walid’s fortune did not exceed $20 billion, and awarded him an honorable 26th place in the ranking.

A week before Forbes completed its calculations, the prince sent his financial director to the editorial office with instructions to achieve the “correct” assessment of his fortune at all costs - $29.6 billion. As a result, the editors decided to stick to their own calculations, which only changed al-Walid’s position in the ranking - even with 26th place, he remained the richest Arab.

In response, al-Walid accused Forbes of ethnic bias and demanded that he be removed from the ranking. The prince said in a press release that the publication's team uses incorrect methods to calculate the value of assets and allows serious mistakes. In this regard, he decided to break all ties with Forbes.

The publication notes that none of the billionaires have made so much effort to inflate their fortune. Al-Walid's vanity played a cruel joke on him - if earlier the businessman's desire for ostentatious luxury was perceived as the norm, given his royal origin, now the prince clearly stands out even against the background of his noble compatriots.
or for example . And now not about politics: and one more thing The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -