Prince al walid talal saudi. Palaces in the sky, on the sea and on the ground. “Putting personal interests above the public”
Bloomberg, USA
© AP Photo, Majdi Mohammed Prince Al-Waleed on his 83-day imprisonment
One of the richest men in the world talks about his capture by the Saudi Arabian government.
Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal has repeatedly failed to become the richest investor in the Middle East and one of Saudi Arabia's most recognizable faces. It went bust in the 1980s, and lost billions of dollars on Citigroup Inc. during the 2008 financial crisis. But nothing compares to the humiliation he has endured over the past few months. Last November, Al-Waleed's uncle, King Salman, and his cousin, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, staged a government crackdown on alleged fraudsters, embezzlers and money launderers, resulting in Al-Waleed being detained and locked up for 83 days in what became the infamous Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh.
I saw Al-Waleed at the end of 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 on the sands, and eating late dinners in the cool midnight air. I returned to the kingdom in mid-March, seven weeks after its release. Al-Waleed decided to break his silence and give an interview to Bloomberg Television.
The day before the interview, we had 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 blazer and sandals - and seemed relaxed. For the next two hours, he talked about his "ordeals" while drinking Arabic coffee and ginger tea, while his five grandchildren sang and danced in the palace gym under hot n cold Katy Perry.
Early in the morning of November 4, Al-Walid, who had arrived at his camp for the weekend, received a phone call asking him to appear at the royal court. He left immediately, unaware of the trap. Sensational details of the anti-corruption purge were soon revealed, and news broadcasts were full of reports that among the hundreds of tycoons, government ministers, and other princes detained at the Ritz-Carlton, Al-Waleed was the most prominent. In three days, shares of his main company, Kingdom Holding Co. , fell by 21 percent.
Al-Waleed has been a boon for a government that wants to show its people that no Saudi can escape responsibility in the fight against parasites and bribery: with a net worth of $17.1 billion, he ranks 65th in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. And his international prominence, forged through friendships and business partnerships with Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch and others, 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 controls separately, is the largest entertainment company in the Arab world.
The government put the question point-blank: pay off, sign a guilty plea and go free, or refuse and languish in captivity. According to the Wall Street Journal, the price of Al-Waleed's release was six billion dollars. The negotiations were held in secret, and the government made no accusations or presented any evidence. Critics said the captives were being denied due process and accused Prince Mohammed of running a campaign of intimidation and extortion under the guise of fighting corruption.
Context
When the princes were locked up at the Ritz
InoSMI 11/14/2017 Al Araby TV 18.02.2018 Donya-e Eqtesad 11/11/2017Rumors began to surface of ill-treatment and even torture at the Ritz-Carlton, which quickly made it to the Daily Mail Online and regional media. So when at the end of January, still in the hotel, the prince appeared in a smartphone video, exhausted and tired after two and a half months of imprisonment, speculation only intensified. He declared that he was being treated decently, but no one believed this. (More recently, The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, reported that some detainees were physically abused and otherwise forced to confess, and one of the military officers in custody died with all signs of a severe beating.)
Since his release, Al-Waleed has put on some weight and seems to me as energetic, lively and busy as 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 on the same footing as a group of swindlers. And any complaint can cause anger, which he already directly encountered.
We conducted the interview at a makeshift site in Al-Waleed's apartment on the 67th floor of the Kingdom skyscraper in Riyadh. As I went inside, I thought about how open 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 get his release? Can you trust his words? What if the government threatened him? Can I talk about it?
Below are excerpts from our conversation, which had to be slightly edited for clarity.
Let's start with the obvious: why?
Al-Waleed's detention was mysterious compared to the rest. Of all the arrested princes, he is the only one who has 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 he could not overestimate tariffs. He made most of his wealth transparently in real estate and as an investor in the open markets.
Eric Shatzker: First question: why were you arrested?
Prince Al Waleed: I wouldn't use that word because we were first invited to the palace and then asked to drive to the Ritz-Carlton. Everything was done with honor and dignity, and in relation to everyone, not just me.
Does this mean that the word "arrest" is fair to use only in relation to those who committed a crime and pleaded guilty?
Exactly. And reached an agreement with the government. But in my case, as you know, the situation is quite 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 worldwide investments, it is very important to be free of both blame and guilt.
You dubbed your ordeals a misunderstanding. What was it connected with?
I say "misunderstanding" because I don't think I should have been there. Now that everything is behind me, I would say that all suspicions have been removed from me. However, I must say that we have indeed reached a full understanding with the government.
What does it mean?
This is confidential information and I can't talk about it. But there is an understanding between me and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Does it require some action from you?
Not necessary. Again, I can not expand on this, because the information is secret and concerns only me and the government. But be sure: it does not constrain me in any way.
What did the government want from you?
I will not go into the details of the discussions that took place between me and government officials.
They must have wanted something.
I read in the press that they allegedly wanted to snatch a piece from me. But these are all rumors.
According to one report, it was about six billion dollars.
I have read about six billion, as well as more and less.
What did your freedom cost you? Weren't you asked to pay the government some money, give up some holdings, or give up some shares?
You must respect the confidential agreement reached between me and the government of Saudi Arabia based on a proven 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 you didn't sign any plea agreement.
We have indeed signed a certain document, a confirmed mutual understanding. Some might call it a settlement agreement. I don't think so, because in my understanding an agreement is an acknowledgment that you did something wrong.
Of course, you understand how important it is to be honest and frank with me. If another version appears, your credibility will suffer.
Of course.
So everything you said is 100% true?
I have a confirmed understanding with the government and it continues to operate. I will elaborate on this: it is a permanent process with the government.
Al-Waleed's reputation question
Already, Kingdom Holding is talking to lenders about raising $2 billion in debt financing — “firepower” for the next deal, the prince says.
These events have affected your reputation. No matter what you say in this interview, people will still be convinced that once you're at the Ritz-Carlton, you must be guilty of something. Understand it.
When you are detained, someone from the business or banking community will certainly state their doubts. Now my job 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 doubt. However, I assure them that everything is in order, everything is back to normal, and we are functioning in the same mode 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 that didn't happen.
Context
When the princes were locked up at the Ritz
InoSMI 11/14/2017Camels punished for Botox and other deceptions of the Arab world
Al Araby TV 18.02.2018What is the relationship between Hariri's resignation and the arrests of Saudi princes?
Donya-e Eqtesad 11/11/2017 All these points are reflected in the confirmed understanding, agreement between me and the government.The confirmation of my words is the fact that I am speaking to you now, and I speak 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, to clarify a lot of false points. For example, that I was tortured and sent to prison. It's a lie. I stayed at the hotel all the time and was never tortured.
Inside the Ritz-Carlton
For three months, 381 Saudis remained locked up at the Ritz-Carlton, which has 492 rooms, 52 acres of land and gigantic conference rooms. Many were quickly released. Al-Walid's tenure was one of the longest. The prince says he was held in room 628, a 4,575-square-foot (425 sqm) royal suite.
What have you been doing all this time?
Sports, walking, meditation, watching the news, prayers.
Describe one typical day.
I went to bed at 6-7 o'clock in the morning, woke up around noon. We prayed five times a day.
Did you have access to television and newspapers?
Everything was accessible.
So, no one outside knew about what was happening inside, and 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 ill-treatment, torture or beatings?
Maybe someone tried to escape or do something crazy. Maybe they were pacified and controlled. Quite possible. But there was nothing that could be called systematic torture.
Were you allowed to speak to other detainees?
No. No one at the Ritz-Carlton could talk to each other. Even in my case. I didn't see anyone, I didn't talk to anyone.
You have been allowed to make several calls. To whom and under what conditions?
I called my son, daughter and granddaughters. And I spoke to the leaders of my companies, the CEO of Kingdom Holding, the head of my personal office, and the general secretary of my foundation.
Were the calls tracked?
Probably yes.
Dealing with the Crown Prince
For more than 70 years, the Saudi throne has passed from one brother to another, but Salman broke with the past by handing over control of several government portfolios to his son and making him crown prince last year. Prince Mohammed's plans include the Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 economic program, under which the world's largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, could go public. Movie theaters, banned since the early 1980s, have returned, and in some parts of Riyadh, women are allowed to go bareheaded. And in June, for the first time since 1990, they will be allowed to drive.
How does it feel to be held captive by your own cousin?
Not easy, I must admit. It's hard when you're being held against your will. But after my release, I had a very strange feeling. I gathered all the senior employees of my companies and associates and told them: "I swear to you that I am in complete calm and peace and do not feel resentment or other bad feelings."
And, of course, a day later we were again talking with the royal court, the crown prince and his people. The situation is very strange, but that's how it happened.
Is it because you just needed to move forward?
No. I'm 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 got stronger. This strikes 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 in person.
Do you talk to him every three days?
We mostly correspond, we talk less often. But we talk every week.
Prince Mohammed has a grand plan to transform the Saudi economy and society. Do you still support him in this?
Yes. His vision absorbed many of my ideas, and he multiplied them. I put forward the idea of creating a sovereign fund and talked about the transformation of Aramco into a public company. Women's rights, their competitiveness in society, their driving - I called for all this.
He is laying the foundation for a new era in Saudi Arabia. Any person who opposes what Mohammed bin Salman is doing, I personally consider a traitor.
Navigating the new Saudi Arabia
The crown prince has also become the largest Saudi investor, pumping 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 heads of international companies?
I was released without being burdened with any conditions, I maintained contacts with many heads of state in Europe and the Middle East. Everything is good.
Can you travel?
Of course I can.
Do you know if the government is monitoring your whereabouts?
I don't care.
What about your bank accounts?
Everything is back to normal.
Are you looking for foreign investment, as is the State Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund. Isn't this competition?
Actually, in terms of participation in many projects, we keep in touch with the government. They have a 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 project in Riyadh, 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 with Kingdom Holding or perhaps Rotana or Prince Al Waleed himself?
Yes, this will happen. Now we are discussing certain projects with PIF.
Domestic projects or international ventures?
Internal to begin with.
The crown prince visits Western countries, meets with Trump at the White House and tries to attract capital to Saudi Arabia. Considering what happened to you at the Ritz-Carlton, how satisfied are you that you represent a united front with the government, the very thing that brought you to that hotel?
I support Saudi Arabia, I support my government, I support King Salman and Prince Mohammed in every way. So it was before, during and after the arrest.
It will be difficult for people to understand.
They do not 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 it sounds strange. They will definitely say “Are you still supporting the King and the Crown Prince after being their prisoner?”
You have to think about how willing CEOs will be to invest in Saudi Arabia after seeing this kind of dispute resolution.
Let them decide for themselves. On my own behalf, I can say the following: things are going on as usual, and we will continue to invest in Saudi Arabia.
Eric Shatzker- Canadian presenter and editor of Bloomberg Television, has 15 years of experience in covering events in the world of investment and economics.
The materials of InoSMI contain only assessments of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the editors of InoSMI.
Childhood
Prince Al-Waleed ibn Talal ibn Abdulaziz Al Saud was born on March 7, 1955 into a royal family, the rank, rank or occupation of each member of which is truly impressive.
His father, Prince Talal ibn Ab-del Aziz, was the Minister of Finance; in the 60s he opposed the current government of King Faisal as part of the liberal movement. His grandfather, Riad As-Solh, is a well-known politician, former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Al-Walid'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 kid 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-Waleed received a prestigious education. He went to study in America, where Menlo College in San Francisco was chosen for training. Here he received a bachelor's degree, after which he went to Syracuse University in New York. Here he studied with world-famous teachers in the social sciences.
Life in America was to the taste of the young prince - here he quickly got used to it, fell in love with business style, fast food and Coca-Cola. It seemed pointless for a young, active and educated young man to return to his homeland.
The beginning of a business career and its successful continuation
Prince Al-Walid 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 close relationship of the prince 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 engaged in the purchase and resale of land. In 1980, Al-Waleed bin Talal founded the company "Kingdom".
One of the prince's most famous and successful investments was Citibank. In the 1990s, Al-Waleed acquired a significant stake in Citibank, which at that time was in a very difficult financial situation. By investing virtually all of his investments in Citibank, he saved it from total collapse. In the future, more than half of Al-Walid's fortune is precisely this company, which he once saved from falling.
The next successful acquisition for the prince was a block of preferred shares of Citigroup. Having bought the company's shares for next to nothing, Al-Walid did not fail - in early 1994, the shares literally soared in price, which significantly increased Al-Walid's capital.
The prince has been seen collaborating with Bill Gates and Microsoft, and is also known for his lavish investments in media companies.
"Arabian Warren Buffett"
Prince Alwaleed is often compared to another successful businessman, Warren Buffett, in reference to his impressive investment acumen. However, these two investors do not have much in common: Al-Waleed, if you look at it, has very few high-profile investments, and the most successful of them is still Citigroup. Buffett is famous for dozens of big deals.
These two businessmen are very different in their attitude to luxury. Warren Buffett lives in a house worth just over $30,000, while the prince owns a luxurious palace valued at over $100 million. Also, Al-Waleed, like most Eastern billionaires, has a weakness for expensive cars, private jets and luxury yachts. In 2012, the prince once again reminded of his love for luxury by purchasing the only instance of an elite aircraft to date. Al-Walid now owns a private Airbus-380 aircraft.
Forbes scandal
The annual rating published by Forbes magazine in 2013, as usual, consisted of people whose fortune has long been estimated in the billions. An Arabian businessman also appeared on the list. But if, according to the editors of the publication, the prince's assets amounted to 20 billion (he took 26th place in a hundred), then he himself announced a figure of $ 29 billion. A difference of almost ten billion could significantly affect his place in the rankings.
It is reported that Prince Al-Waleed sent a letter to the CEO of Forbes, in which he asked in an uncompromising manner that his name no longer appear in the publication's rankings. Not this year, or any other. Then he openly stated that he did not trust the publication, and the methods of assessing the state used by journalists are absolutely wrong and incorrect.
Forbes management did not tolerate such tricks that undermine 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, in which a different point of view on the current situation was stated. 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 the Prince of Saudi Arabia, Al-Walid, who was in his seventies, donated almost all of his life fortune to charity. According to preliminary estimates, about 32 billion were written off from the accounts of the billionaire. He admitted that Bill Gates, who also generously “shares” his personal fortune with his brainchild, the Gates Foundation, became an example for him. “This is my duty to humanity,” the prince said, mentioning that charity is an inalienable honor of his faith, Islam.
Donated funds will be used to build hospitals, schools, orphanages, to help countries affected by natural disasters, to help single mothers and other needy groups of people.
Personal life
Not much is known about the personal life of Prince Al-Walid: he was married three times, but is currently not married. From the 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. The third wife was chosen by Amir Al-Tawil - a very outstanding personality, 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 annulled. Rumor has it that the spouses entered into a marriage contract, according to which Princess Amira could not have children. Most likely, this was the main reason for the divorce.
The wealth of the cosmopolitan investor, the nephew of the Saudi king, increased by $6.1 billion last year. Two-thirds of his capital is a 95% stake in the Kingdom Holding Company investment fund. In the five weeks leading up to the cutoff date (based on which capitalization is calculated for the Forbes rating), the company's shares have risen in price by 49%. Al-Waleed and Kingdom Holding Company own 3.5% of Citigroup, as well as large stakes in the Four Seasons and Fairmont hotel chains. In February, News Corp. acquired 9% of Al-Waleed's media company Rotana, valued at $770 million. His palaces and properties are worth more than $3 billion. He owns a collection of jewelry worth $730 million and four aircraft, including an Airbus A380.
Al-Waleed ibn Talal is a member of the Saudi royal family. He is the son of Prince Talal, whose parents were the founder of Saudi Arabia, Abdul Aziz Alsaud and Princess Mona El Sol.
Al-Waleed ibn Talal received his education in the USA, first with a bachelor's degree in business management, then - a doctor of science and a doctor of law. His property is the investment empire Kingdom Holding Company. He owns the largest stakes in many well-known companies. Among them are Worldcom, Motorola, AOL, Apple, etc. The prince's interests also include real estate. These are stakes in hotels in New York, Monaco and London, as well as a chain of entertainment complexes in France. His work schedule allows him to sleep only five hours a day. It is said about him that despite being related to the ruling king, Alwaleed Alsaud tries not to get involved in politics.
Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal is actively involved in philanthropy, among other things, he annually donates more than one hundred million dollars to organizations in the Middle East, Asia and Africa that deal with the needs of the needy. He organizes educational centers in the Middle East for American students, and in the USA for Islamic students. Donated twenty million dollars to the Louvre two years ago to build a new wing dedicated to Islamic art. In the same year, the prince transferred twenty million dollars each to American universities at Harvard and Georgetown. This donation is among the 25 largest at Harvard and the second largest for Georgetown. The university administration said that these charitable contributions will be used to improve curricula, as well as to expand the faculty in this area.
Prince Alwaleed promotes equal rights for women, the first in the country to hire a woman as an airplane pilot.
Prince Al-Waleed ibn Talal
Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal is the nephew of the current king of Saudi Arabia. He earned his fortune on investments, he owns the Kingdom Holding Company. Through this company, he carries out all his investments. The prince began to engage in investments, which later brought him fabulous money, back in the late seventies, taking a loan of three hundred thousand dollars. He is one of the richest people in the world.
He is said to sleep five hours a night, that's how long it takes to control investments. He owns large stakes in AOL, Apple Computers, Worldcom, Motorola, News Corporation Ltd, etc. In 1990, Al-Waleed ibn Talal acquired a controlling stake in Citicorp, which at that time was going through hard times. Now the shares owned by the prince are worth ten billion dollars.
He spends a lot on charity. After the terrible tragedy on September 11, he offered New York a donation of ten million dollars. The proposal was rejected by the mayor of the city. In 2002, Prince Alwaleed donated half a million dollars to the Bush Senior School Scholarship Fund. In December of the same year, he donated twenty-seven million dollars to the government of Saudi Arabia to pay the families of Palestinian suicide bombers. After the earthquake in Kashmir in 2005, he donated goods and funds in the amount of 5.3 million US dollars to support and restore goods and funds. Among other things, he is going to sell five percent of his Kingdom Holding Company to the public. The company's value is estimated at 17.6 billion dollars. The shares will be offered at $2.73 each. If the shares are in demand, the offer can be expanded to fifteen percent of the company's shares.
According to Al-Walid ibn Talal, issues of tolerance and understanding between East and West are among the most important in the modern world. He builds bridges between the Western and Islamic communities, organizes educational centers for American students at universities in the Middle East and for Islamic students in the United States.
The prince likes to spend money on beautiful and expensive things. He has luxurious cars, and usually he buys them in two copies: one for himself, and exactly the same for his bodyguards.
Although Prince Al-Waleed ibn Talal has not usually interfered in politics, he has recently become critical of excessive traditionalism in Saudi Arabia, advocating free elections and equal rights for women.
The East is not alive only by Sheikh Moza. In hot and desert Saudi Arabia on November 6, 1983, Princess Amira Al-Tawil, the wife of Saudi Prince Al-Walid bin Talal, was born.
Princess Amira is the wife of Saudi Prince Al-Walid bin Talal. She is Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Al Waleed bin Talal Foundation, an international non-profit organization that supports programs and projects to combat poverty, disaster relief, women's rights and interfaith dialogue. The princess is also on the board of trustees of Silatech, an international youth employment organization.
Princess Amira is a graduate of the University of New Haven (USA) with a degree in business administration. She defends the rights of women, incl. and the right to drive a car, get an education and get a job without having to ask permission from a male relative. Amira herself has an international driver's license and drives a car on all foreign trips herself. Known for her impeccable taste in dress, Amira is the first Saudi princess to refuse to wear the traditional abaya in public like other women in the kingdom.
Lecture at the business school in Barcelona
The Princess is Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Al-Waleed bin Talal Foundation, an international non-profit organization that supports programs and projects to combat poverty, the consequences of disasters, women's rights and interfaith dialogue.
Opening of the Forum of Arab Women Leaders
With husband
Amira is the first Saudi princess to refuse to wear the traditional abaya in public, like other women in the kingdom. The princess herself is not of royal blood.
Amira's husband Prince al-Waleed ibn Talal ibn Abdulaziz Al Saud, better known as Prince al-Walid, is a member of the Saudi royal family, an entrepreneur and an international investor. He made his fortune on investment projects and buying shares. In 2007, his net worth was estimated at $21.5 billion (according to Forbes magazine). Al-Walid ibn Talal al-Saud ranks 22nd in the list of the richest people in the world.
The prince does not hold public office, he is the grandson of King Abdulaziz and the nephew of the current king. In addition, he became famous as the most progressive Saudi prince, stands for equal rights for women in Saudi Arabia.
Prince al-Waleed ibn Talal ibn Abdulaziz Al Saud, on board his own yacht with son Khaled and daughter Reem. 1999
According to various sources, Amir is his 3rd or 4th wife (the only one at the moment, he never had several wives at the same time). They have no children, the prince has two children from his first marriage. They say that in their marriage contract it is written that the princess cannot have children. How true this is, but such information often accompanies the discussion of this couple.
Princess Amira is in New York for the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative. It was founded by Bill Clinton to combat such global problems as poverty and disease. She and her husband have done something that she believes will help bridge the gap "between faiths and cultures." The Al-Walid Family Foundation helped open the Islamic art wing at the Louvre in Paris, donating approximately $20 million to the project. "Art opens people's minds in a different way," says Princess Amira.
She likes to open minds. Back in her homeland of Saudi Arabia, which is known for banning women from driving, dating men and until recently banning them from voting, Amira is a vocal advocate for women's rights. She says that divorced women in Saudi Arabia are required to give up custody of their daughters, and that female lawyers are not allowed to speak in court.
According to her, she drives a car "in the desert", where she gets away with it. “Women in rural areas have much more freedom than women in the city,” she notes. - They can drive. They don't wear an abaya." She herself put on a yellow jacket for the meeting, her dark hair was not covered by anything.
Amira says she is friends with Saudi activist Manal Al-Sharif, who is famous for boldly posting videos of her driving a car on YouTube. For this, she was jailed for a week. The princess calls Manal a "fearless woman" and believes that driving rules should be changed.
“I think it's enough for the king to say, 'Women can drive. Those who don't want to don't have to do it,” she says. The Princess calls King Abdullah's recent decision to allow women to vote in municipal elections very courageous. At the same time, she notes that many religious figures were against it. “He believes in empowering women,” the princess says. "I think he's the right person to do it."
Amira, 30, denies that her activism gets her into trouble in public spheres. “Everyone knows me,” she says. - I communicate with extreme conservatives and with extreme liberals. My goal is not to create a negative attitude, but unity.”
In her opinion, the West often gets the wrong idea about Saudi Arabia. Amira notes that only bad news makes headlines, good news does not. “56% of university graduates are women,” she says. - We watch the television series "Seinfeld", "Friends", presidential d:) you - America is loved by many people in Saudi Arabia. I swear to God, if you come, you will see that the Saudis are watching American TV.”
The princess refers to a recent feature in Newsweek about a conservative woman in Saudi Arabia, emphasizing: “She doesn't represent all women… she's extremely conservative. And seventy percent of the people of Saudi Arabia are people from the golden mean.” However, Amira says she respected the article because it showed the extreme conservatism of the woman's family. And she loves that one of the photos shows young Saudi college girls laughing in trendy sunglasses.
With Sheikha Moza
Princess Amira studied literature at the University. King Saud in Saudi Arabia, as well as management at the University of New Haven in Connecticut, although she lived in her homeland while studying at an American university. According to Amira, she was acquainted with the professor of this university, and the learning process was in the nature of close cooperation with numerous phone calls and visits.
"What's important about American education is that you're exposed to so many things - classical music, comparative religion... you learn about Hinduism and Buddhism," she shares her impressions. But the princess refuses to talk about her personal life. According to her, she comes from a middle class family and her mother is divorced.
Her latest project was the Opt4Unity initiative, which is being implemented through the Al Waleed Foundation. Like the Clinton Global Initiative, its idea is to bring together an "extraordinary team" of business leaders, investors and philanthropists to address the world's employment, food and education challenges. “We are all talking about people who can make a difference,” says Princess Amira. "Let's do something"
Princess Amira receives the 2012 Woman Leader of the Year award at the 11th Middle East Women Leaders Awards in Dubai.
Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
P.S.
On October 10, 2013, Dubai hosted a large-scale and unprecedented event for the UAE - Vogue Fashion Dubai Experience, organized by the Italian edition of Vogue and the investment company Emaar Properties.
The event was held at The Dubai Mall and consisted of three parts. The first of them included fashion shows, exhibitions, movie screenings and much more. Guests of the mall could admire the collections of more than 250 world brands. Next, the guests were treated to a gala dinner, which was also attended by celebrities from the world of fashion and art, and the Italian operatic tenor Vittorio Grigolo and American Ballet Theater dancer Roberto Bole presented their performances.
The third part of the evening was a charity auction with unusual items: from a gold Versace pendant to a customized Valentino dress or a weekend at the Armani Hotel. The event ended up raising about $1.4 million in a full day of sales, which will be donated to Dubai Cares, a charity that educates children from developing countries.
Princess Amira Al-Taweel was also present.
Elena Mordashova, ex-wife of the "steel king", lives in Moscow. Today she works in a commercial company and does not want to discuss the fate and actions of her husband. She considers her six-year-old attempt to avenge her ruined life and her abandoned son stupid and naive. She is not going to repeat it. The one who has more money is right, she is sure.
Mordashov's son, Ilya, did not want to take his father's surname and took his mother's surname. Ilya studies at the institute, where he is known not as the exiled heir to the steel empire, but as a laconic and reserved guy. Ilya does not tell anyone about his father, whom he last saw more than seven years ago.
The former general director of Severstal, Yuri Lipukhin, after his "overthrow" from the post of general director of the plant, gave only one long interview. The children and relatives of Lipukhin protect their elderly father from the obsessive attention of the press and those who are trying to use the former head of the plant to attack Mordashov. Most of the time Lipukhin lives in Sochi, reading books and tending the garden.
In a new marriage, Alexei Mordashov had three children ...
$21 billion
Prince Al Waleed bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
Prince Al-Walid bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud
The wealth of the ruling Saudi dynasty is not usually associated with business acumen, financial luck or hard work. The only exception is the multi-billion dollar fortune of Prince al-Walid bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud. Having become chairman of his own company at 14 and a billionaire at 31, Prince al-Waleed, now 51, is a typical Western-style businessman who created himself and his capital, now estimated at $21 billion.
At the beginning of the 20th century, King Ibn Saud, with fire and sword, managed to unite the disparate tribes of the Arabian Peninsula into one state. Since 1932, the Saudi dynasty has been the ruling royal dynasty of Saudi Arabia and the custodian of one of the main common Muslim shrines - the Kaaba temple in Mecca. The al-Saud clan has over a thousand princes and princesses. The most famous of them - Prince al-Walid - stands out not only for the size of his fortune, but also for his high hierarchical position in the clan: he is the nephew of the current king of Saudi Arabia.
Al-Walid was born in 1957 from the marriage of the Prince of Blood of the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia and the daughter of the first Prime Minister of Lebanon. The parents divorced when the child was three years old, and until his 11th birthday, the boy lived with his mother in Beirut. The young offspring of the royal family was sent to America to be educated. Here, the prince graduated from Menlo College in San Francisco (has a bachelor's degree in business administration) and a master's degree in social sciences from Syracuse University in New York.
An adherent and guardian of Wahhabism in America became addicted to morning jogging, fell in love with Coca-Cola, masterfully mastered the ability to wear business suits and, they say, was even an active participant in rampant student parties.
The prince began his business activities in 1979 by providing intermediary services to foreign companies that wanted to do business with Saudi Arabia. Given the prince's proximity to the royal family and his informal influence in the region, the start was successful. In 1980, al-Waleed bin Talal established the Mamlaka Company (Kingdom in English). He himself says that he created the business with the help of $30,000 borrowed from his father and a $400,000 loan secured by a house donated by his parent. Al-Waleed continued to actively use his privileged position, obtaining lucrative construction contracts and buying land at reduced prices for subsequent resale. However, according to al-Walid himself, his contracts and real estate deals in the Riyadh district were nothing more than a “glare on the radar screen.” The metaphor used by the prince cannot be called anything other than a Freudian slip: at that time, the prince was even more interested in war than in business.
The war in Afghanistan was sacred to devout Muslims. The Saudi dynasty, at the head of Wahhabism, could not remain aloof from the events in Afghanistan. And al-Walid actively helped the Afghan Mujahideen in the fight against the Soviet Union. In 1981, the prince even had a chance to visit training camps in Peshawar, where the Mujahideen received combat training. However, after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1989 and the outbreak of civil war in that country, al-Walid stopped sending money there. According to him, he made his last donation to the Mujahideen in April 1990, giving them $5.4 million.