Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal is among the wealthiest people of royal Saudi family because of which Times magazine listed him among ‘Time 100’ the hundred most influential people of the world in 2008. This is a biography to reveal the life of Al-Waleed.
We will discuss his early life, relation the ruler of Saudi Arabia, his appreciation of western lifestyle and success in business.
Early Life:
He was born in Jeddah on 7th March 1955 in the family of Prince Talal who was an influential & powerful man from Royal family. His grandfather Abdul Aziz (Ibn Saud) who was the first ruler of Saudi Arabia.
His mother Mona Al Solh was the daughter of Lebanon’s first Prime Minister Riad Al Solh. Thus he was surrounded by family members who were ruling two very important countries in the Middle East.
Education:
After their parents divorced he shifted to Lebanon with his mother where he lived and completed his early education. Then he attended military school in Riyadh and went US from where he completed his graduation in Business Administration from Menlo College. His continued his studies and received masters from Syracuse University in 1985.
Richest Person:
Today he is among the wealthiest people of the world, Forbes ranked him 34th richest person in 2015 with estimated wealth of $22.6 billion which Talal believed was an underestimation, he claims his wealth is $32 billion.
In 2009 he invited a Forbes reporter to accompany him for a week, during which he invited him in his 420 room palace in Riyadh. Then they left for Cairo through his personal Being 747.
Business:
Today he is among the most successful businessmen in Middle East with shares in Twitter, Apple, Citigroup, Time Warner, London’s Savoy Hotel & Canary Wharf. His Rotana Group is Arab world largest entertainment company.
What’s more amazing is the claim by Al Waleed that he earned all this through his own skills. According to prince Alwaleed Bin Talal his father left for him only $30,000 endowment, $300,000 loan and a house.
Lifestyle:
He lives a luxurious life style which he always try to project. Unlike other members of royal family he never hides his personal life from media.
He was seen attending the royal wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William in 2011 with his wife Ameera. What attracted more attraction was the fact that his wife was wearing western clothes rather than the decent Muslim clothing preferred in the Arab world.
As mentioned earlier he also owns a Boeing 747. He also owns a super yacht which is considered the 65th biggest in the world. It was used by James Bond in the movie and later Trump purchased it, but sold it to Prince Waleed during financial difficulties.
Marriages:
According to media reports he has been married for four times, three wives are known which are:
1) His cousin Dalat bin Saud
2) Kholood Al Anazi
3) Ameera Al-Taweel
He is father of Prince Khaled Bin Waleed & Princess Reem born from his first marriage.
Philanthropist:
He also established multiple organizations to work for betterment of people and especially women. His head office in Riyadh has more women employees then men.
She also helped and financed Hanadi Zakaria Al-Hindi who became the first female pilot in the country. Through his media company he also financed the film Wajda which was the first film directed by Saudi women and was featured in Cannes film festival.
He has also donated funds Harvard, Cambridge and Edinburg universities in the past.