Who Is Alwaleed Bin Talal?

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 $17.5 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Early Life and Education

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.

Notable Accomplishments

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.

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.

The Bottom Line

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.