Al-Waleed bin Talal Biography Quotes 5 Report mistakes

Early Life and Family Background
Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal was born on March 7, 1955, in Saudi Arabia to a family that linked two influential worlds: the Saudi royal house and modern Lebanese political life. His father, Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, was a son of King Abdulaziz, founder of the modern Saudi state, and was known for advocating administrative and social reforms inside the Kingdom. His mother, Mona Al Solh, was the daughter of Riad Al Solh, the first prime minister of independent Lebanon. Al-Waleed spent his childhood between Riyadh and Beirut, reflecting the cross-cultural influence of his parents and extended families. The cosmopolitan environment he encountered early on, coupled with an awareness of public life shaped by his father and maternal grandfather, framed his later interest in world affairs, business, and philanthropy.

Education and Formative Years
Educated in both Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, Al-Waleed pursued higher studies in the United States. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Menlo College in California in 1979 and later completed a master's degree in social science at Syracuse University in 1985. These experiences introduced him to corporate finance, real estate markets, and investment management practices, and they broadened his network well beyond the Middle East. Returning to the Gulf at the end of the 1970s, he brought with him an appetite for building enterprises that could connect Saudi capital to global opportunities.

Entrepreneurial Beginnings
Al-Waleed began his career in Riyadh in real estate and construction, sectors that were expanding alongside Saudi Arabia's urban growth. In 1980 he established what became the foundation of a diversified investment platform. He applied a hands-on approach, combining local partnerships with rigorous financial analysis, and set out to identify undervalued or under-managed assets that could be repositioned. The early success of these ventures gave him the capital and credibility to look abroad.

Building Kingdom Holding Company
In 1990 he consolidated his activities under Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), which evolved into one of the most recognizable vehicles for Middle Eastern investment on the global stage. During the early 1990s he made a landmark investment in Citicorp (later Citigroup), injecting capital when the bank was under pressure. That deal established him as a long-term, high-profile shareholder in international finance and signaled a distinctive style: contrarian entries into blue-chip names, patient holding periods, and active engagement with management.

Through KHC he assembled stakes across sectors and continents. He bought and expanded luxury hotel assets, including acquiring the Hotel George V in Paris and partnering with Bill Gates and Four Seasons leadership to take Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts private. He invested in Fairmont and Raffles, later linking to transactions that reshaped those brands' global footprint. His portfolio extended to media and entertainment via Rotana, a leading Arabic content company, and to publicly traded firms in technology and consumer sectors. Over the years he held positions in companies such as Apple, Citigroup, and Twitter, among others, and he was for a time a significant shareholder in News Corporation, interacting with Rupert Murdoch on media strategy and governance.

Global Partnerships and Public Profile
Al-Waleed's career developed through partnerships with prominent corporate figures and institutional investors. His collaboration with Bill Gates in hospitality illustrated how Gulf capital could join with U.S. technology and investment expertise to build resilient global platforms. In banking, his relationships with senior executives at Citigroup connected him to the evolving landscape of post, Savings and Loan era finance. In the media sector he interacted with the leadership of News Corporation during a period when satellite and digital distribution were transforming content markets. These networks reinforced his image as a financial bridge between the Middle East and major capital markets.

Philanthropy and Institutional Giving
Parallel to investing, Al-Waleed built a philanthropic portfolio through Alwaleed Philanthropies (previously the Al-Waleed bin Talal Foundation), focusing on disaster relief, health, education, and cross-cultural understanding. In 2005 he made major gifts to Harvard University and Georgetown University to support Islamic studies and interfaith dialogue, part of a sustained effort to encourage scholarship and mutual understanding between the Islamic world and the West. The foundation supported initiatives across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America, often partnering with international organizations and universities. In 2015 he announced a plan to commit his then-estimated fortune to philanthropic causes over time, aligning his public identity with large-scale, institutional giving. His then-wife, Princess Ameera al-Taweel, was active in the foundation's work and became a visible advocate for humanitarian projects and opportunities for women and youth.

Detention and Later Developments
In November 2017, during a broad anti-corruption initiative overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Al-Waleed was among the prominent figures detained in Riyadh's Ritz-Carlton. He consistently denied wrongdoing. He was released in early 2018 after reaching a settlement with the government, and he resumed active management of his business interests. In subsequent years he maintained a presence in global markets. His longstanding investment in Twitter drew renewed attention in 2022 when the company was acquired by Elon Musk; Al-Waleed ultimately retained an indirect stake in the privatized platform alongside new owners.

Wealth Rankings and Media Scrutiny
For decades Al-Waleed appeared on international wealth rankings and was a recurring subject of media coverage about global billionaires. In 2013 he publicly disputed Forbes' valuation methodology and ranking, arguing that it undercounted the market value and liquidity of his holdings; the disagreement highlighted the challenges of assessing complex, privately controlled conglomerates with cross-border assets. The episode underscored his sensitivity to corporate reputation and the signaling power of rankings for investors and partners.

Personal Life and Family
Al-Waleed's family ties shaped his public role. His father, Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz, sometimes called the "Red Prince" for reformist views, influenced debates about governance and development in the Kingdom. His mother, Mona Al Solh, connected him to the Lebanese political milieu established by her father, Riad Al Solh. Al-Waleed married Princess Dalal bint Saud, a daughter of King Saud; they had two children, Prince Khaled and Princess Reem, before later divorcing. Prince Khaled has pursued business and sustainability initiatives, while Princess Reem has engaged in philanthropic and cultural activities. Al-Waleed subsequently married and later divorced Princess Ameera al-Taweel, who remained a recognizable figure in humanitarian circles. His extended family network includes uncles and cousins in the Saudi ruling family, situating him at the intersection of commerce and statecraft.

Known for a disciplined work routine and a willingness to champion ambitious projects, he also developed a taste for signature assets. He owned the yacht Kingdom 5KR, once famous under a previous owner, and he invested in private aviation. Even so, his public messaging often returned to the themes of enterprise, opportunity, and the social responsibilities of wealth.

Legacy and Influence
Al-Waleed bin Talal's career illustrates how Gulf investors helped reshape the ownership map of global companies in banking, hospitality, media, and technology. By pairing opportunistic capital deployment with high-profile partnerships, he became a symbol of cross-border investment from the Middle East. The prominence of figures around him, from his father Prince Talal and grandfather Riad Al Solh to business counterparts like Bill Gates and Rupert Murdoch, and political leaders in Saudi Arabia including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the 2017 crackdown, placed him in a continual dialogue with both markets and governance. His philanthropic commitments, especially to education and cross-cultural understanding, further defined his public persona. Whatever the markets' cyclical turns, his multi-decade presence across sectors and regions left a durable imprint on how Saudi private capital engages with the world.

Our collection contains 5 quotes who is written by Al-Waleed, under the main topics: Work Ethic - Resilience - Investment - Internet.

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