Originally published 2007, part of a series I did for a biography website. Can’t even remember who now, but it’s long gone.
His full name is “Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud”, and one could imagine that with a name like that, you’d have to be rich. He is among the richest people in the world with a current net worth of $15 billion USD, and is the second richest man in royalty next to the Sultan of Brunei. Time magazine has called him “the Arabian Warren Buffett.”
Prince Al-Walid was born March 7, 1955, in Saudi Arabia. His father is Abdul Aziz Al Saud, the founding King of Saudi Arabia. Abdul Aziz Al Saud, commonly known in the West as Ibn Saud, founded the unified nation of Saudi Arabia in 1932. It was under his reign that petroleum reserves under Saudi Arabia were discovered in 1938, and it was his move to exploit that. His mother is Princess Mona El-Solh, who is the daughter of Riad El-Solh, who was the first Prime Minister of modern day Lebanon and a leader of Lebanese independence. To fill out the royal family tree, his cousin is Prince Moulay Hicham of Morocco.
Some of us might be tempted to laze about the palace eating figs all day if we were born to such circumstances, but Prince Al-Waleed has chosen a more involved life. So he is the holder of a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Menlo College, earned in 1979, and a Masters in Social Science degree from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University, earned in 1985.
Prince Al-Waleed has made a remarkable decision in turning away from politics in his country, choosing instead to show his talent in business. He simply borrowed $30,000 from his father and mortgaged his own home for $300,000, and that was his seed money for starting his business career. He started out being a business broker for firms in Saudi Arabia, and throughout the 1980’s he dropped a few investment dollars into the Saudi banking industry and made a few land deals. He was pacing himself.
In the 1990’s, he made his first big career move when he bought a large portion of shares in Citicorp, the United States banking corporation. This wasn’t just a casual purchase – Citigroup was in danger of collapsing in 1991 due to under-performing American real estate loans. Prince Al-Waleed dropped a solid $590 million USD in Citigroup’s lap, earning him an ownership stake of nearly 15% at the time. He has remained Citigroup’s largest shareholder. Citigroup assets and earnings now account for over half his wealth.
Prince Al-Waleed has made many other investments which, while not as spectacular, have paid off in kind. These include AOL, Apple Inc., Worldcom, Motorola, News Corporation, Ltd. and many other technology and media companies. His real estate holdings have included the Four Seasons hotel chain, the Plaza Hotel in New York, London’s Savoy Hotel and Monaco’s Monte Carlo Grand Hotel. He also holds a 10% stake in Euro Disney.
All of his business these days is channeled through the Kingdom Holding Company, of Riyadh; it is the largest company in Saudi Arabia. Prince Al-Waleed controls over 90% of the shares and sells the rest as stock. The company just describes itself as “a diversified investment company”, which suits his business method nicely. It is an umbrella corporation under which to hold his assets which have spread from banking and real estate to telecommunications, entertainment, computers and electronics, retail, tourism, and even automotive manufacturing.
It is this last that shows his enjoyment of his status. Prince Al-Waleed is noted for being both a boating and automotive enthusiast. He owns 300 cars, and several luxury-length yachts. He also owns his own private jet and an Airbus A380. By the way, when he’s done gallivanting about in these various vehicles, he can always spend some relaxing time at home in his 317-room palace in Riyadh.
Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal has made a bold name for himself in striking out on his own to make a mark on the world. It now seems that he is at last showing some interest in the political governance of his country, and one day may assume duties in running it. But in the meantime, he hasn’t let life just pass him by.
