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Owner of Kingdom 5KR Prince Alwaleed bin Talal to donate billions to charity

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has announced he will donate all of his $32 billion fortune to charity. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is the owner of superyacht Kingdom 5KR .

In an official statement, the Saudi Prince said that his billions would go his organisation, Alwaleed Philanthropies, and be used to “foster cultural understanding” and support communities in need, including aiding disaster relief. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal also said the donation of his fortune would help causes that “empower women” – the Prince’s progressive views on women’s issues can be seen in his staff, which counts many women in its roster. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has already donated $3.5 billion to his charity.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is one of the world’s wealthiest people, ranked at number 34 on Forbes ’ list of the world’s billionaires. While he is a royal – the nephew to King Salman – Prince Alwaleed bin Talal doesn’t hold any official government position and is widely considered a “self-made” billionaire. According to the AP , he built his wealth through seed money from his father and varied investments. His company, Kingdom Holdings, owns stakes in Disney, Apple, Twitter, GM, News Corp, 21st Century Fox, and hotel groups including the The Four Seasons, Raffles and Fairmont.

Now Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is donating all of his fortune, stating he has been inspired by the Gates Foundation, founded by Bill and Melinda Gates. Bill Gates enjoys yachting holidays himself, having been spotted on superyacht Serene last year.

"Philanthropy is a personal responsibility, which I embarked upon more than three decades ago and is an intrinsic part of my Islamic faith," Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said in the statement.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal owns the superyacht Kingdom 5KR , launched by Benetti in 1980. The 85.9 metre displacement motor yacht was designed by Luigi Sturchio , and she enjoyed a refit in 1993. The 1,768GT, Saudi Arabia-flagged yacht can accommodate 22 guests.

No word yet on whether donating all his wealth includes the eventual sale of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s superyacht Kingdom 5KR as well. An exact timeline of the donations was not announced in his statement, but the Prince said that the donation of his billions would occur through a “well-devised” plan in the coming years, supervised by a board of trustees that he will head.

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From a luxury 'prison,' an exclusive interview with Saudi Prince Alwaleed

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Who Is Alwaleed Bin Talal?

Prince Alwaleed Bin Tala is a Saudi businessman and investor

Mrinalini Krishna is the Senior Editor of investing news at Investopedia. She's been a journalist for more than 10 years covering business, personal finance, and investing news.

Thomas J Catalano is a CFP and Registered Investment Adviser with the state of South Carolina, where he launched his own financial advisory firm in 2018. Thomas' experience gives him expertise in a variety of areas including investments, retirement, insurance, and financial planning.

Alwaleed bin Talal is a businessman, investor, philanthropist, and member of the royal family of Saudi Arabia. He is the founder and majority shareholder of the Kingdom Holding Company, a Saudi Arabian conglomerate that invests in hotels, real estate, and publicly traded companies worldwide. He is regarded as one of the wealthiest global investors. His net worth was $14.6 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Key Takeaways

• Alwaleed bin Talal is a billionaire and a member of the royal family of Saudi Arabia.
• He is the founder of the Kingdom Holding Company.
• His net worth was $14.6 billion, according to Bloomberg.
• Bin Talal established Alwaleed Philanthropies, which is a charitable organization.

Investopedia / Julie Bang

Alwaleed bin Talal was born on March 7, 1955, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Born into the House of Saud, he is a member of the royal family of Saudi Arabia, making him a prince. He is the grandson of Saudi Arabia’s first monarch, King Ibn Saud, and the nephew of the nation’s last king, Abdullah Saud. His mother, Princess Mona Al Solh, was the daughter of the first Prime Minister of Lebanon.

In 1975, Alwaleed bin Talal traveled to the United States to pursue his education. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Menlo College in California in 1979 and a graduate degree in social sciences from Syracuse University in 1985. After graduating, bin Talal returned to Saudi Arabia to launch a business career.

Alwaleed's maternal grandfather was Riad El Solh, who was the first prime minister of Lebanon.

Bin Talal founded the Kingdom Holding Company in 1980. As a devout value investor , Alwaleed uses Kingdom Holding as a vehicle to hold an internationally diverse portfolio of businesses operating in many sectors, including banking, real estate , and healthcare.

Wealth and Philanthropy

When Kingdom Holding launched, Saudi Arabia required foreign companies interested to have partners and representatives who were citizens of the kingdom. Bin Talal represented international companies and claimed ownership stakes in the projects he helped to facilitate. By 1989, he amassed a personal net worth of $1 billion.

Kingdom Holding diversified its investment portfolio, acquiring the failing United Saudi Commercial Bank, ultimately acquired by Samba Financial Group, the Saudi kingdom's largest financial institution. During the 1990s, Kingdom Holding purchased a 4.9% stake in Citigroup ( C ) in the United States, which remains a core part of the Kingdom Holding portfolio. His notable investments include stakes in:

• Four Seasons Hotel
• Euro Disney
• Lyft ( LYFT )
• The Hotel George V in Paris
• The Savoy Hotel in London

Bin Talal was one of the earlier investors in the X platform (formerly Twitter) before its public offering, and News Corporation ( NWSA ), the parent company of The Wall Street Journal and HarperCollins publishers.   In August 2018, he announced a $250 million investment in Snap that would give him a 2.3% stake.

$6.94 billion

The market capitalization of Kingdom Holiday as of Jan. 17, 2024.

In 1980, Alwaleed bin Talal founded the Al Waleed bin Talal Humanitarian Foundation, a charitable and philanthropic organization based in Saudi Arabia. The organization changed its name to Alwaleed Philanthropies in 2020. According to its website, the organization has donated more than $4 billion to more than one billion beneficiaries in over 190 countries.

The investor and Saudi royal announced in 2015 that he would donate his entire fortune to charity. He estimated his net worth at the time at $32 billion.

Controversies

In 2017, Saudi Arabian officials detained several high-profile individuals in an anti-corruption crackdown. Members of the royal family, including bin Talal, and former government ministers were among those taken into custody. Bin Talal was released after settling with the country's attorney general and maintained he did no wrongdoing.

What Philanthropic Organizations Has Alwaleed Bin Talal Founded?

Alwaleed bin Talal oversees Alwaleed Philanthropies, which includes three divisions. Alwaleed Philanthropies Global focuses on philanthropic and humanitarian projects worldwide. Alwaleed Philanthropies Lebanon focuses on Lebanon's social and community needs, and Alwaleed Philanthropies Saudi Arabia focuses on the needs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

How Has Alwaleed Bin Talal Invested in Climate Change?

In December 2016, Alwaleed bin Talal joined Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy Coalition with the promise of a $50 million investment.

What Investments Does Alwaleed Bin Talal Have Besides Those With Kingdom Holding?

Alwaleed bin Talal owns real estate in Saudi Arabia and the majority of the Arabic-language entertainment firm Rotana.

Alwaleed bin Talal is a Saudi royal and billionaire. A renowned international investor, his Kingdom Holding Company owns significant stakes in companies around the world, including Citigroup and Snap.

Bloomberg. " Alwaleed Bin Talal ."

Vanity Fair. " The Stockholder in the Sand ."

Alwaleed. " His Profile ."

Morningstar. " How Prince Alwaleed Became a Billionaire ."

Google Books. " The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, 1952-2016: Central Bank of Oil ," Page 265.

Google Books. " Global Media Giants ," Page 281.

Reuters. " Saudi Prince Alwaleed buys Twitter stake ."

CNBC. " Prince Alwaleed says he has acquired a 2.3% stake in SNAP ."

CompaniesMarketcap. " Kingdom Holding ."

Alwaleed Philanthropies. " Who We Are ."

Alwaleed Phiilanthropies. " Home ."

The Guardian. " Alwaleed bin Talal: meet the Saudi prince giving away all his moneyAlwaleed bin Talal: meet the Saudi prince giving away all his money ."

CNBC. " Billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal arrested in corruption crackdown ."

Reuters. " Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed released as corruption probe winds down ."

Forbes. " Alwaleed bin Talal ."

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International, billionaire saudi prince freed from weeks-long ritz detention.

Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, seen here in 2014, was released on Saturday from a nearly three-month detention at the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton. Majdi Mohammed/AP hide caption

Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, seen here in 2014, was released on Saturday from a nearly three-month detention at the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton.

Saudi Arabia's internationally known billionaire businessman, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, was released from his luxury hotel detention in the nation's capital on Saturday, family sources told multiple media outlets .

Alwaleed reportedly reached a financial settlement with the government before returning to his home, according to Reuters.

He was the most prominent person among those arrested when several of the country's most powerful princes, businessmen and government officials, among others, were swept up in an anti-corruption raid in early November and placed under house arrest at the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton.

The man behind the crackdown, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Alwaleed's cousin, was vague about the reasoning.

Shortly after the detention of 159 people, the attorney general said in a statement , "Based on our investigations over the past three years, we estimate that at least $100 billion USD has been misused through systematic corruption and embezzlement over several decades."

But in a process cloaked in covertness, it remains unclear exactly who was arrested, who has been freed and why.

A Saudi Billionaire's Detention Is Making Some Investors Nervous

In December, the attorney general said most detainees "agreed to a settlement." Reuters reports some 90 detainees have been released and had their charges dropped, while around the same number remain in detention, with some expected to face trial.

Many view the crackdown as a power grab — and a lucrative one at that — by the 32-year-old crown prince, who is King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud's son and heir to the throne.

The New York Times reports that Mohammed has said the campaign could bring in more than $100 billion.

Alwaleed, 62, heads the investment firm Kingdom Holding Company, which has stakes in such Western behemoths as Twitter, Lyft and Citigroup.

Forbes estimates Alwaleed's net worth at $17.4 billion.

In an interview from the hotel hours before his release, Alwaleed told the wire service that he was innocent.

With Saudi Arrests, Crown Prince Shows He Can Force Change. But It's Not Democracy

And he was eager to convey feelings of goodwill, despite being confined to what amounted to a plush prison, telling the wire service that he supports the crown prince's reform efforts and characterizing his detention as a misunderstanding.

"There are no charges. There are just some discussions between me and the government," Alwaleed told the wire service.

He gave Reuters a tour of his suite and gilded office at the Ritz, saying he was able to keep in touch with family as well as business executives.

"I have nothing to hide at all. I'm so comfortable, I'm so relaxed. I shave here, like at home. My barber comes here. I'm like at home, frankly speaking," he said.

Now that he has been freed, Alwaleed is expected to return to the business of managing his investment empire.

He told the wire service that he plans to continue living in Saudi Arabia.

"I will not leave Saudi Arabia, for sure. This is my country. I have my family, my children, my grandchildren here. I have my assets here," he said.

"My allegiance is not on the table."

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Who is Alwaleed bin Talal, the prince at the centre of the Saudi corruption purge?

RIYADH (WASHINGTON POST) - Even if you didn't know much about Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal before his arrest on Saturday - in what was either an anti-corruption purge or a political crackdown - you're almost certainly acquainted with his money.

The biography on Alwaleed's personal website consists of a single sentence about his background (born 1955; grandson of the first king of Saudi Arabia), followed by a dense page crammed with details of his wealth and power: Holdings in Twitter, Lyft, Euro Disney and Twentieth Century Fox; luxury hotels across the world; a tower under construction in Saudi Arabia that will soon be the world's tallest building. Or his opulent palace, where Business Insider once reported the prince kept "a group of dancing, laughing, joking dwarfs" in his entourage, occasionally tossing them around as sport like human shot putts.

That last part isn't in the official biography. And it would be a shame if all you knew about Alwaleed was his wealth, because the personality behind those billions of dollars sounds no less extraordinary.

It's true that Alwaleed descends from King Abdulaziz al-Saud, the founder of Saudi Arabia whose family has controlled it ever since. But the website biography doesn't mention what Vanity Fair will tell you: that Alwaleed's father rebelled against the repressive monarchy in the 1960s and forever after damaged his line's chances of inheriting the throne.

Though that hasn't stopped Alwaleed from hinting that he might one day sit on it.

Vanity Fair's profile also retells - with some scepticism - the official story of how Alwaleed amassed his immense fortune.

It reads like a fairy tale.

The prince was about 30, having returned from Menlo College in California with a business degree in 1985. "Alwaleed claims his father gave him US$30,000 (S$40,944). Within a year, he had lost the money. He went back to his father, who gave him US$300,000. This time, it took him three years to lose it." Third time was the charm. Alwaleed's father gave him the deed to a house instead of cash, and told him "work for yourself". So he took a loan out on the deed, and with some shrewd investments (and his royal stipend, and the proceeds from hawking a US$200,000 heirloom), the prince learned to become a self-made man.

Others have speculated that his fortune owes more to the royal family's control of Saudi Arabia's oil, Vanity Fair wrote - or even that Alwaleed is "a frontman for the vast wealth of the Saudi royal family". In any event, the prince surged to the top of the billionaires list in early 1990s, not for any enterprise inside his family's kingdom, but by investing in a then-struggling US bank, now known as Citicorp.

From that point on, Alwaleed was a prince without borders. He worked with Stephen Bannon in the late 1990s. He sold a yacht to Donald Trump. At 62, The Associated Press reported, he's now one of the major shareholders in Apple, News Corporation and Twitter.

But we're getting sidetracked by dollars signs again. In our defence, they suffuse almost every anecdote about the prince's personality, and his hard-to-pin-down politics.

Alwaleed donated US$10 million to help New York after the terrorist attacks on Sep 11, 2001, Business Insider reported, for example. But Mayor Rudolph Giuliani turned the money down after the prince issued a news release criticising the US position on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

He's always been a press-happy prince. (Or occasionally press-cranky, as when Alwaleed sued Forbes for defamation, claiming the magazine had underestimated his wealth at a mere US$20 billion.) Seated in a recliner in shaded glasses at night, Business Insider reported, Alwaleed held forth to CNBC on the banking crisis in 2008. The same year, according to Forbes, he put on a ceremonial Saudi robe and took his personal Boeing 747 to the city of Jeddah. There he pitched his uncle, King Abdullah, on his plan to built a skyscraper more than a kilometre tall. "It will be the epicentre of Jiddah," the prince told Forbes. "It will be a magnet." The tower is slated to open in 2019. About midway through its construction, Business Insider ran an expose on Alwaleed's lifestyle at his headquarters in the capital of Riyadh. "Almost every source we spoke to, including Alwaleed's official spokesperson, confirmed that, like a medieval monarch, Alwaleed keeps in his entourage a group of dancing, laughing, joking dwarfs," the outlet reported in 2012. "One source called them 'jesters'. "

Not only did the prince hold occasional "midget-tossing" contests with these people, Business Insider wrote, but once invited his "jesters" to a business meeting, where he taught them the words "Boeing" and "Airbus", and had them decide which type of plane he should add to his personal fleet.

In the face of bizarre accusations like this, Alwaleed has made great demonstrations of his concern for human rights - especially among the poor and women. "Can you believe this? It's horrible," he told Forbes while handing out cash-stuffed envelopes in a Riyadh slum. The same article noted that women who work for Alwaleed's offices are discouraged from wearing the veils they're forced to wear in public.

The prince wrote an op-ed for the New York Times during the "Arab Spring" revolutions, condemning autocratic Arab nations led by those who "serve special and self-serving interests," and embracing his father's criticism of Saudi Arabia's autocracy.

And two years ago, following in the footsteps of Western billionaires like Bill Gates, Alwaleed promised to give away his entire US$30-some billion fortune in the indefinite future - "to build a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable world," he told reporters.

And the prince was among many global leaders to condemn Donald Trump early in his run for president, and attempt reconciliation after the election.

As The Washington Post previously wrote, some have suggested that Alwaleed is essentially running a PR campaign for his western business holdings.

Others wonder if he has designs on the Saudi throne. That's one theory for why Saudia Arabia's crown prince - Alwaleed's cousin - had him and 10 other princes arrested on Saturday to face a "royal anti-corruption" committee, amid rumours that the king is preparing to step down.

Power in Saudi Arabia has long passed between the sons of the founding king, Forbes wrote in 2009. But the line of succession has become complicated as that generation nears the end of its life span.

Could the globe-trotting, billionaire son of a dissident one day take the throne? "Sure," Alwaleed told Forbes. "The chain of command of people who could become king in this country is between the sons and the grandsons of King Abdulaziz. I am among them." Others doubted his chances. "Alwaleed is the Donald Trump of Saudi Arabia," an expert on the Saudi royal house told Forbes that year."He may be a symbol of success for some Saudis, but many others view him as being way too gaudy." But that was many years ago. Donald Trump is president of the United States now, and who knows what's in store for Alwaleed?

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Alwaleed bin Talal: billionaire Saudi prince at centre of corruption purge

From Apple to NewsCorp, the high-profile Saudi royal who sued Forbes for underestimating his wealth has investments in top corporations across the globe

The highest profile arrest in Saudi Arabia’s anti-corruption purge is Prince Alwaleed bin Talal , a multibillionaire with huge investments in western firms.

Prince Alwaleed, 62 and one of the world’s richest men, has become one of the most familiar – and progressive – faces of Saudi in western media. While he has the lifestyle, jets, yacht and palace of a stereotypical Saudi billionaire, he has burnished a different image with interventions such as backing rights for Saudi women and denouncing President Trump on Twitter.

The prince, a grandson of Saudi’s first ruler and son of a Saudi finance minister, has an estimated net worth of $17bn (£13bn), according to Forbes magazine – although he has sued them for underestimating his wealth . He came to prominence internationally as a major backer of Citigroup in the 1990s, and more so when continuing to back the firm as its value evaporated during the financial crisis.

His investments extended into major media groups, with substantial stakes in Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp, Apple, Time Warner, Twitter , and owning Rotana, whose TV channels broadcast widely across the Arab-speaking world.

He has reduced his share in NewsCorp, but his clout was such that an intervention in 2011 in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal was seen as the coup de grace for News International’s Rebekah Brooks, telling the Murdochs from his superyacht in Cannes that “she has to go”.

The investment group he set up in 1980, rebranded as the Kingdom Holding Company in 1996, also owns several global luxury hotel chains, as well as landmark properties such as London’s Savoy Hotel and the George V in Paris. More recently it has backed Uber’s rival ride-hailing firm Lyft.

On Twitter in 2015 he called Donald Trump a “disgrace to America” after the Republican candidate floated the idea of a ban on Muslims, and he urged Trump to quit the campaign. Trump, who responded in typically combative terms accusing the prince of wanting to control “our politicians with daddy’s money”.

Al-Waleed had in fact recently promised to donate all his wealth to charity – although he had years earlier purchased a yacht from Trump, and according to Forbes’s profiles, shares the president’s predilection for mocked-up Time magazine covers apparently featuring his exploits.

His vision has not always matched reality: in a 2013 court case in London , a judge said that Prince Al-Waleed’s evidence in the witness box was “confusing and too unreliable” as he was forced to pay out in a business dispute.

And while the prince already owns a Boeing 747 for his personal use, complete with throne, his ambition to have the world’s biggest superjumbo, the A380, refitted with a concert hall, Turkish baths, luxury suites and a parking bay for his Rolls Royce, remains unfulfilled. Despite placing an order with manufacturer Airbus in 2007 at the Dubai airshow, the plane remains on the tarmac in Toulouse to this day.

Prince Al-Waleed was an early advocate of women’s employment in Saudi Arabia – hiring a female pilot for his jets, at a time when there was no prospect of women driving on the ground, and speaking out against the driving ban before the regime agreed this year to lift it. His wife, Ameera, who he divorced in 2013, usually appeared unveiled.

Al-Waleed’s international profile was extraordinary – frequently seen with top politicians, Wall Street executives and British royals. But he was an unofficial public face of the Saudi kingdom rather than a key part of the ruling elite – a status underlined by his arrest in King Salman’s crackdown.

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What you need to know about detained Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal

The billionaire is among 11 princes detained as part of a crackdown on alleged corruption by King Salman of Saudi Arabia.

Sunday 5 November 2017 17:34, UK

Billionaire Saudi businessman Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is among 11 princes detained as part of King Salman's crackdown on alleged corruption.

But who exactly is Prince Alwaleed bin Talal?

Here's everything you need to know about him.

He is one of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia's nephews.

He is 62 and is the chairman and controlling shareholder of Kingdom Holding Company.

What is Kingdom Holding Company?

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It's an investment company. It's one of the largest shareholders in the banking giant Citigroup, and also holds stakes in Twitter, Apple, AOL, eBay and more.

It also has investments in the Murdoch-owned media organisations News Corp and 21st Century Fox, which owns a minority share in Sky plc.

Kingdom Holding Company also has investments in the Savoy Hotel in London, The Plaza Hotel in New York and the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris.

What else does he do?

He also owns Rotana, one of the Middle East's biggest entertainment companies.

He also set up Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundations, described on his website as being dedicated to supporting global cultural understanding, disaster recovery, women's empowerment, and community development projects in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and around the world.

Time Magazine has described him as the Arabian Warren Buffett.

How rich is he?

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index says he is the 50th richest man in the world.

Forbes puts his wealth at $17bn.

It has been widely reported that he once bought a yacht from Donald Trump.

Why has he been detained?

The Saudi government says it is cracking down on corruption. King Salman has created a new anti-corruption committee.

He named his 32-year-old son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as head of the committee.

What kind of corruption has Prince Alwaleed bin Talal been involved in?

None that we know of, and none that has been reported.

Analysts suggest the arrests are for reasons beyond corruption, and that the government wants to remove potential opposition to Prince Mohammed as he pushes new reforms.

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Alwaleed bin Talal is the Saudi Prince Who Helped Musk Acquire Twitter; Here's His Net Worth

Belonging to the House of Saud, whose wealth is 16 times more than that of the British royal family, Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud has an estimated net worth of nearly $20 billion . His royal lineage is renowned for its penchant for luxury brands and opulent hotels, and Talal himself has invested in the hospitality business. He had bought the Plaza Hotel in New York in 2018, and most recently helped Elon Musk take over Twitter by offering his stake in the firm, after initially opposing his acquisition. The royal who was among 11 princes once arrested by the current Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, is also a stakeholder in Citigroup and Uber.

What are Alwaleed bin Talal's sources of income?

Talal is the founder of Kingdom Holdings, through which he has invested in private and public firms across the US, the United Kingdom, and Europe. Apart from startups such as Snap and Lyft, his portfolio also boasts of iconic hotels such as The Savoy in London and Hotel George V. Most of Talal's revenue comes from these investments, and he also owns a majority stake in Arabic entertainment platform Rotana.

He has also invested in real estate across Saudi Arabia, and has promised $50 million to Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy Coalition.

Real estate and other assets

Apart from major luxury hotels on the global map, Talal also owns a 420-room palace in Riyadh, three floors in Kingdom Tower, and houses in Saudi Arabia collectively worth $4 billion. Talal has also made other extravagant purchases, including Donald Trump's yacht back in 1991, and a Mercedes Benz which was studded with diamonds after the purchase. He even bought an entire Airbus380, which was later turned into his very own palace in the sky.

Personal life 

Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud, born on March 7, 1955, Al Waleed bin Talal has family ties as the grandson of Abdulaziz, the first king of Saudi Arabia, and Riad Al Solh, who served as Lebanon's first prime minister. Throughout his life, Al Waleed has entered into several marriages. His first marriage, at the age of 19 in 1976, was to his cousin, Princess Dalal bint Saud, a daughter of King Saud. They had two children, Prince Khaled (born on April 21, 1978) and Princess Reem (born on June 20, 1982), but eventually divorced in December 1994.

In 1996, Al Waleed married Princess Iman Sudairi, but this marriage lasted for only about a year. Following his second divorce, he entered into a marriage with Kholood Al Anazi in 1999, but they too divorced in 2004.

His fourth marriage was to Ameera al-Taweel, which lasted for about six years before they officially divorced in 2014. Al Waleed publicly announced this separation, expressing his continued respect for Princess Ameera Al-Taweel.

How many times has Al Waleed married?

Al Waleed has married 4 times.

Who is the wealthiest Saudi prince?

Alwaleed bin Talal is a billionaire and a Saudi Arabian royal family member. He is the founder of the Kingdom Holding Company

How did Alwaleed bin Talal get his fortune?

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud is the founder of Kingdom Holding, a conglomerate that has stakes in hotels, real estate, and equities.

Saudi Prince Al Waleed Invests In Four Seasons Resort In Red Sea Project

Josh Corder , Skift

October 25th, 2023 at 9:51 AM EDT

Saudi's Prince Al Waleed has invested in - or bought - some of the world's most famous hotels, including The Plaza in New York and Four Seasons in Paris. Now, he's adding hotels in his own country.

Josh Corder

Saudi billionaire and royal family member Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud has snapped up a 50% stake in the upcoming Four Seasons resort in the ultra-luxurious Red Sea project in Saudi Arabia for $266 million, according to a release from Red Sea Global.

It marks the first time Al Saud has added a hotel in his own country to his portfolio of five-star properties.

His firm, the Kingdom Holding Company, owns the world-famous Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris, has a majority stake in The Savoy in London, and used to own one of New York’s best-known old-money hotels: The Plaza .

What the upcoming Four Seasons Resort Red Sea lacks in heritage compared to his other properties, it makes up for in luxury. Expected to open in two years’ time, it will have 149 rooms and suites, plus 31 residential properties, as well as six restaurants and “lounge outlets.” It will also have meeting and events spaces, a marine discovery center, and a kids area. 

Kingdom Holding’s investment is in partnership with the project’s master developers, Red Sea Global. Saudi’s Public Investment Fund owns nearly 17% of Kingdom Holding, with Prince Al Waleed holding more than 78%.

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Tags: hospitality news , hotel news , Saudi Tourism

• Contribution

Al Waleed Bin Talal he (born 7 March 1955) is a Saudi Arabian business tycoon and investor. He is a member of the Saudi royal family. He is the founder, CEO, and 95%-owner of Kingdom Holding Company. As of March 2012, his personal wealth was estimated to be US $18 billion.Arabian Business ranked him as the most influential Arab in the world. As of October 2012, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index listed Talal as the 16th-richest man in the world, with an estimated net worth of US $23.9 billion.Previously, Forbes listed Bettencourt as one of the wealthiest people in the world with a fortune estimated US $23.5 billion.

Al Waleed bin Talal was born on 7 March 1955. His parents are Prince Talal and Mona Al Solh, daughter of Riad Al Solh, Lebanon's first Prime Minister after its independence.Al Waleed is Prince Talal's second son. Therefore, Al Waleed is the grandson of Saudi Arabia's founder Ibn Saud. Al Waleed received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Menlo College in California in 1979. He then received a Master's degree in Social Science with honors from Syracuse University in 1985.

Al-Waleed owns the 85.9-meter (282-foot) yacht Kingdom 5KR,, originally built as the "Nabila" for Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi. The yacht posed as the Flying Saucer, the yacht of James Bond villain Largo in the film Never Say Never Again. It was later sold to Donald Trump, who renamed her Trump Princess. Al-Waleed bought back the yacht after Trump's second bankruptcy. He has ordered a new yacht currently known as the New Kingdom 5KR which will be about 173 meters (557 feet) long and carries an estimated cost of over $500 million. The yacht is rendered by Lindsey Design and is expected to be delivered in late 2010.[

Al Waleed owns several aircraft, all converted for private use: a Boeing 747, an Airbus 321 and a Hawker Siddeley 125. Also on order is an Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft, which is scheduled for delivery in 2012.This has been noted in the 2009 Guinness World Records as the largest private jet in the world.

Al Waleed bin Talal was born on 7 March 1955. His parents are Prince Talal and Mona Al Solh, daughter of Riad Al Solh, Lebanon's first Prime Minister after its independence.Al Waleed is Prince Talal's second son. Therefore, Al Waleed is the grandson of Saudi Arabia's founder Ibn Saud. Al Waleed received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Menlo College in California in 1979. He then received a Master's degree in Social Science with honors from Syracuse University in 1985

Al Waleed began his business career in 1979 upon graduation from Menlo College. His activities as an investor came to prominence when he bought a substantial tranche of shares in Citicorp in the 1990s when that firm was in crisis. With an initial investment of $550 million ($2.98 a share after adjusting for stock splits, acquisitions, and spin-offs, according to Bloomberg calculations) to bail out Citibank caused by underperforming American real estate loans and Latin American businesses, his holdings in Citigroup now comprise about $1 billion. His investments in Citigroup earned him the title of "Arabian Warren Buffett".

His stake in Citibank once accounted for approximately half of his wealth, prior to the financial crisis of 2007�2010. At the end of 1990, he bought 4.9 percent of Citicorp�s existing common shares for $207 million ($12.46 per share)�the most that he could without being legally obliged to declare his interest. In February 1991, he spent $590m buying new preferred shares, convertible into common shares at $16 each. This amounted to a further 10% of Citicorp and took his stake to 14.9%. In 1999, The Economist expressed doubts about the source of income of Prince Al Waleed and whether he is a front man for other Saudi investors. Because his income in the 1990s was insufficient to cover his expenditures. "You could barely clothe a Saudi prince for such sums, let alone furnish him with a multi-billion-dollar empire. Nevertheless, by 1991 Prince Alwaleed had felt able to risk an investment of $797m in Citicorp", wrote the magazine.

Much of the charitable activities of Al Waleed are in the field of educational initiatives to bridge gaps between Western and Islamic communities. Over the years, he has funded a number of centers of American studies in universities in the Middle East and centers of Islamic studies in Western universities, which has given rise to concerns about their academic autonomy from Campus Watch and Jewish American interest groups

Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, Al Waleed gave a check of $10 million to New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. He publicized a written statement upon his donation, stating "At times like this, we must address some of the issues that led to such a criminal attack. I believe the government of the United States of America should re-examine its policies in the Middle East and adopt a more balanced stance toward the Palestinian cause." As a result of his statement, Giuliani returned the check.

Al Waleed spoke to a Saudi weekly magazine, regarding the rejection of his check by the mayor: "The whole issue is that I spoke about their position [on the Middle East conflict] and they didn�t like it because there are Jewish pressures and they are afraid of them."

In 2002, Waleed donated �18.5 million to the families of Palestinians during a TV telethon following Israeli operations in the West Bank city of Jenin. The telethon was ordered by Saudi King Fahd to help relatives of Palestinian martyrs. The Saudi government maintained the term "martyrs" referred not to suicide bombers but to "Palestinians [who are] victimized by Israeli terror and violence.

In March 2008, Al Waleed Bin Talal had donated �8m to build an Islamic studies centre (to bear his name) at Cambridge University. A few months later, on 8 May 2008, he gave �16m to Edinburgh University to fund the "centre for the study of Islam in the contemporary world." In April 2009, Al Waleed donated $20 million to Harvard University, one of its 25 largest donations. He also donated the same amount to Georgetown University.His donation and others coming from Islamic sources have not been always welcomed due to their effects on academic objectivity and security concerns.

In 2002, Al Waleed donated $500,000 to help fund the George Herbert Walker Bush Scholarship at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.

    Abdelrahman Ashraf El-mansy

    faculty of engineering - communication department.

    Amira Mohammad Mohammad

    faculty of science - chemistry department.

    Marwa El-Sayed Kenawy

    faculty of commerce - mis department.

    Moamen Mohammad El-Sayed

Mona Mohammad Abd El-Rahman

    faculty of science- oceanography department.

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