Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal Alsaud

17/02/2025

17/02/2025

Image is everything to Prince Alwaleed, with specific care paid to those who can provide outside validation. He meets with very important people. Just ask him. His staff issues a press release with a photo seemingly every time he interacts with someone big (Bill Gates), someone who might someday be big (Twitter CEO Dick Costolo) or just someone who sounds big (Burkina Faso's ambassador to Saudi Arabia). In 2003 he was photographed behind George W. Bush, Jordan's King Abdullah, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. When his authorized biography, Alwaleed: Businessman, Billionaire, Prince, appeared in 2005, that photo appeared on the back cover—this time with Alwaleed in front, courtesy, the prince later admitted to FORBES, of Photoshop. For several months beginning in late 2011, the prince even began blind copying or forwarding me almost daily text messages he sent: Some were to the spouse of a European president; others to a well-known top executive at a large U.S. technology firm; still more were to the hosts of several cable-TV talk shows. The contents were shared off the record—but the intent to impress was not.

In terms of outside validation, though, his paramount priority, according to seven people who used to work for him, is FORBES' list of global billionaires. "That list is how he wants the world to judge his success or his stature," says one of the prince's former lieutenants, who, like almost all his ex-colleagues, spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal from the Arab world's richest man. "It's a very big thing for him." Various thresholds—a top 20 or top 10 position—are stated goals in the palace, these ex-employees say.

But for the past few years former Alwaleed executives have been telling me that the prince, while indeed one of the richest men in the world, systematically exaggerates his net worth by several billion dollars. This led FORBES to a deeper examination of his wealth, and a stark conclusion: The value that the prince puts on his holdings at times feels like an alternate reality, including his publicly traded Kingdom Holding, which rises and falls based on factors that, coincidentally, seem more tied to the FORBES billionaires list than fundamentals.

Alwaleed, 58, wouldn't speak with FORBES for this article, but his CFO, Shadi Sanbar, was vociferous: "I never knew that FORBES was a magazine of sensational dirt-digging and rumor-filled stories." Our discrepancy over his net worth says a lot about the prince, and the process of divining someone's true wealth.

17/02/2025

Best Stories Of The Decade: “Prince Alwaleed And The Curious Case Of Kingdom Holding Stock”

As this decade ends, we’re republishing our best work from the past 10 years, a journey that reflects Forbes’ two-fold mission: chronicle entrepreneurial capitalism—shinning a light on the disruptors changing the world forever—and call out the rogues abusing the system.

Kerry Dolan, who leads our Wealth Team, noticed a curious pattern: The stock price of Prince Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holdings always seemed to spike right before Forbes calculated its annual Billionaires list. By proving that wasn’t a coincidence and unspooling an all-time case of narcissism, Dolan won the Overseas Press Club Award for best international business reporting in a magazine.

— Randall Lane, Chief Content Officer

Originally published March 5, 2012

Any reporter who shows an interest in Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal of Saudi Arabia can expect at some point to get a little gift from His Royal Highness. A driver will courier over a thick, tall green leather satchel, embossed with the oasis palm logo and name of Alwaleed's Kingdom Holding Co., weighing at least 10 pounds. Like Russian nesting dolls, the green leather satchel reveals a green leather-bound sleeve, which in turn encases a green leather-bound annual report. About the only thing not shrouded in leather are thin versions of a dozen of the best-known magazines in the world, each boasting the prince on its cover.

These magazines are the most telling items within the prince's big-bucks information dump. Fronting Vanity Fair, he strikes a jet-set pose, complete with reflective sunglasses, a powder-blue sports coat and an open-collar shirt. He's on two Time 100 covers, once in a collage with the likes of George Soros, Li Ka-shing and Queen Rania, and a second solo, donning the classic Saudi thobe and ghutra. There's even a FORBES, from which he stares out powerfully, in a Steve Jobs black turtleneck, above the text "The world's shrewdest businessman." But the most instructive piece of information is consistent across them all: None are real magazines. Rather than simply send out press clippings, the prince's staff has concocted or rejiggered magazine covers, which they bind atop article mentions on beautiful high-gloss paper.

10/07/2024

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud Boeing 747-400 HZ-WBT7

10/07/2024

Saudi prince Alwaleed who infamously failed at buying a $500 million Airbus A380 private jet for himself, had once sued Forbes and spent $2 million in legal fees because the magazine had ranked him lower in their Billionaires list.

10/07/2024

Saudi prince Alwaleed who infamously failed at buying a $500 million Airbus A380 private jet for himself, had once sued Forbes and spent $2 million in legal fees because the magazine had ran

04/06/2024

MARKETREALIST.COM / NET WORTH
Alwaleed bin Talal is the Saudi Prince Who Helped Musk Acquire Twitter; Here's His Net Worth
Name Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud
Net Worth $20 Billion
Gender Male
DOB March 7, 1955
Age 68 Years
Source of Income Hotels, real estate and equity
Nationality Saudi
Profession Entrepreneur
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.

04/06/2024

High-profile Saudi Arabian investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal owns chunks of private and public companies in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East through Kingdom Holding Co., 5% of which is listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (he is listed as owning the other 95%). Holdings include stakes in ride-sharing firm Lyft, social media firm Twitter, Citigroup, hotel management company Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, the swanky Hotel George V in Paris and the Savoy Hotel in London. Outside of Kingdom Holding, the Prince owns real estate in Saudi Arabia, the majority of Arabic-language entertainment firm Rotana, and other assets. Prince Alwaleed, who bought Donald Trump's yacht in 1991, called out Trump on Twitter in June 2016, saying he should drop out of the presidential race "as you will never win." After Trump won the U.S. election in November, Alwaleed congratulated him on Twitter. In December 2016, Alwaleed joined Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy Coalition with the promise of a $50 million investment.

04/06/2024

Who is Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud? 3 Facts You Didn’t Know About The Saudi Royal.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud is a prominent figure from the ruling Al Saud family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He is a successful businessman and investor, as well as the founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kingdom Holding Company, one of the most prosperous and diverse financial investment groups in the world.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud was born in Riyadh in 1955. He studied Business Administration in the United States before entering the world of business. As the founder of the Kingdom Holding Company, his talent for business and commitment to a diverse portfolio is clear. The Company holds investments worth tens of billions in Saudi Arabia and around the world. Prince Alwaleed focuses investment in the hotel and travel sectors, however the company also has shares in the largest companies in the world, such as Apple and Walt Disney.

In 2014, Bloomberg included Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud in their Billionaire Index. His Royal Highness has also been included in a list of the 100 most powerful Arab businessmen, as well as the Foreign Policy magazine, an American publication, list of the 500 most powerful people in the world.

He has two married children, HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud and Princess Reem bint al-Waleed bin Talal, with Princess Dalal bint Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.