Al Waleed Bin Talal is one of the wealthiest men in the Middle East, proving that he is more than just a beneficiary of good fortune and a lavish lifestyle. This man climbed to prominence in the Middle East by creating his real estate corporation, ‘Kingdom Holding Company,’ at a very young age. He subsequently moved into the realm of finance, where he worked for multi-billion dollar corporations such as Citicorp. He went on to invest in a number of well-known companies, including Steve Jobs’ Apple Inc., AOL, and other hospitality conglomerates. Later in life, this commercial tycoon became actively involved in humanitarian initiatives, including the empowering of Saudi Arabian women, the provision of scholarships, and the eradication of poverty. He has also given a significant sum of money to the rehabilitation of victims of natural catastrophes such as the ‘Tsunami.’ He even encouraged a woman called Hanadi Zakaria al-Hindi to pursue her dream of becoming a pilot. The woman went on to become Saudi Arabia’s “First Female Pilot” thanks to Waleed’s assistance. Continue reading to find more about Al Waleed Bin Talal’s life and accomplishments.
Childhood and Adolescence
On the 7th of March, 1955, in the middle-eastern city of Jordan, Al Waleed was born to the Monarch Prince Talal and his wife Mona Al Solh.
His father was quite interested in the political activities of the country, and he was even made Finance Minister. However, due to political turbulence, he was deposed from office and sent into exile.
Following his parents’ divorce in 1969, Waleed moved in with his mother in Lebanon. Bin Talal used to be rather rambunctious and would regularly flee his home when he was small. He’d then spend the evenings sleeping in parked automobiles on the streets.
The boy had his initial schooling at a military academy in Riyadh, where he claims he learned discipline. Talal later relocated to the United States, where he studied at a school called ‘Menlo College.’
Career of Al-Waleed bin Talal
Talal returned to his hometown after graduating from ‘Menlo’ in 1979 to start his own business. Due to the rise in the oil business, Saudi Arabia’s economy grew tremendously during this time.
This young man’s entrance into real estate and construction at the time was greatly aided by the state of the nation’s economy. Al-Waleed struck gold when he decided to start his business during the Saudi Arabian oil boom.
He subsequently bought the ‘United Saudi Commercial Bank,’ an underperforming financial company. He then integrated this bank with other businesses such as ‘Saudi Cairo Bank’ and ‘SAMBA.’ The ‘United Saudi Commercial Bank’ grew into one of the best financial institutions in the Middle East.
In 1991, Al-Waleed purchased a large number of shares in the financial behemoth ‘Citicorp,’ at a time when the bank was in the midst of a major crisis. He eventually went on to bail out Citibank, a well-known financial institution, with $550 million. The corporate magnate is thought to control a $1 billion interest in the ‘Citigroup’ organization today.
In 1997, the popular magazine ‘Time’ reported that Al-Waleed acquired a 5% share in the American media conglomerate ‘News Corporation.’
Talal went on to invest in companies such as ‘AOL,’ ‘Apple Inc.,’ the film manufacturing giant ‘Eastman Kodak,’ the renowned airline ‘TWA,’ the ‘Four Seasons’ hotel group, and even the prestigious ‘Plaza.’ He went on to sell a large amount of his shares in the firm ‘Plaza’ in 2004.
During early 2005, the Prince purchased the prestigious ‘Savoy Hotel’ in London for a stunning $250 million. During the same year, he also sold his shares in the Steve Jobs-owned ‘Apple Inc.’
In 2006, his company, ‘Kingdom Holding Company,’ agreed to buy the ‘Fairmont Group of Hotels’ from a company called ‘Colony Capital.’ The total value of the transaction was $3.9 billion.
According to a few media reports, Bin Talal owns a 35 percent share in the Middle-Eastern media conglomerate ‘SRMG.’
In 2011, the business mogul stated publicly that he will work with the Saudi Arabian construction firm ‘Bin Laden’ to develop ‘The Tower of One Mile,’ which, once completed, would be the world’s tallest structure.
Al-Waleed also invested $300 million in the world-famous, multi-billion dollar social networking site ‘Twitter’ in the same year.
Major Projects of Al-Waleed bin Talal
His investment in ‘Twitter’ drew worldwide notice, particularly in the year 2011. Waleed’s interest in the company was later estimated to be worth $8 billion.
Achievements & Awards
Al Waleed was awarded ‘The Order of Izzudin’ by Mohammed Nasheed, the President of the Maldives’ island nation, in 2009. In the same year, he was honored with the ‘State of Palestine’ prize.
In 2010, the businessman received the ‘Dwight D Eisenhower Award For Innovation.’
In 2012, Bin Talal received the ‘Bahrain Medal of the First Order,’ ‘Mahaujjval Rashtradip Mandapvi,’ and ‘Colina De Boe Medal,’ among other honors.
Personal History and Legacy
This Saudi Arabian business magnate has a sister, Sultana Narul, who has a part in the ‘Fairmont Hotels and Resorts’hospitality empire. She is said to own 16 percent of the company’s total capital.
Bin-first Talal’s marriage was to a member of the royal family named Dalal Bint Saud, however the marriage was short-lived. Khalid and Reem were the couple’s two children. Later in life, he married Ameera Al Taweel, a Saudi Arabian royal. This romance, too, was short-lived, ending in November 2013.
Bin-Talal owns the ‘Kingdom Resort,’ ‘Kingdom Palace,’ and ‘Kingdom Oasis,’ among other super-luxurious palaces and hospitality businesses. Aside from this, he owns a yacht called ‘Kingdom 5KR,’ which is one of the world’s longest vessels of its sort.
The business magnate is a co-founder of the ‘Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation,’ a humanitarian organization dedicated to addressing social issues such as poverty and assisting victims of natural disasters.
This businessman provided roughly $500,000 to the ‘George Hebert Walker Bush’ scholarship, an initiative of the educational institution ‘Philips Academy,’ in 2002, in order to encourage education.
In the same year, he gave 18.5 million Euros to Palestinian families who had suffered as a result of the political war between their country and Israel.
He even provided $17 million to families who had been affected by the aftermath of the 2004 ‘Tsunami’ disaster that slammed the Indian Ocean.
Ameera, Al Waleed’s former wife, continues to travel widely around Saudi Arabia on behalf of Al Waleed’s initiative in order to promote women’s emancipation.
According to the world-renowned media outlet ‘British Broadcasting Network’ (BBC), Al-Waleed would donate a massive $32 billion to society’s well-being.
Estimated Net Worth
This business tycoon’s net worth is believed to be around $22.8 billion as of early 2015. Al Waleed had offered a $10 million check to Rudy Giuliani, the mayor of New York City, just after the horrific ‘World Trade Center’ attacks of 2012.