Al-Waleed bin Talal

Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal (also spelled Waleed bin Talal) (Arabic: الوليد بن طلال بن عبد العزيز آل سعود‎; born 7 March 1955) is a Saudi Arabian businessman and investor. He is a member of the Saudi royal family. He is the nephew of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. An entrepreneur and international investor he has amassed a fortune through investments in real estate and the stock market.

He is founder, CEO and 95%-owner of Kingdom Holding Company. As of March 2011, his personal wealth is estimated to be US$19.6 billion by Forbes, making him the 26th richest person in the world and richest Saudi Arabian. This listing also ranks him as the richest Saudi Arabian in the world. He has been nicknamed by Time magazine as the "Arabian Warren Buffett".

Early Life

Al-Waleed bin Talal was born to Talal ibn Abd al-Aziz ( the son of the founding King of Saudi Arabia, Abdul Aziz Al Saud ) and Princess Mona El-Solh, daughter of Riad as-Solh, Lebanon's first Prime Minister. He is Prince Talal's second son.

Al-Waleed received a Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration with high honors from Menlo College in California in 1979. He then received a Master's of Social Science with honors from Syracuse University in 1985.

Business interests

Al-Waleed began his business career in 1979 upon graduation from Menlo College in California. The Prince's activities as an investor came to prominence when he bought a substantial tranche of shares in Citicorp in the 1990s when that firm was in difficulties. With an initial investment of $550 million ($2.98 a share after adjusting for stock splits, acquisitions and spin-offs, according to Bloomberg calculations) to bail out Citibank caused by underperforming American real estate loans and Latin American businesses, his holdings in Citigroup now comprise for about $1 billion. His investments in Citibank earned him the title of "Arabian Warren Buffett".

His stake in Citibank once accounted for approximately half of his wealth, prior to the recent financial crisis. At the end of 1990 he bought 4.9 percent of Citicorp’s existing common shares for $207 million ($12.46 per share)—the most that he could without being legally obliged to declare his interest. In February 1991, as American troops stationed in Saudi Arabia were preparing for war with Iraq, the prince spent $590m buying new preferred shares, convertible into common shares at $16 each. This amounted to a further 10% of Citicorp and took his stake to 14.9%.

Later, he also made large investments in AOL, Apple Inc., MCI Inc., Motorola, Fox News and other technology and media companies.

His real estate holdings have included large stakes in the Four Seasons hotel chain and the Plaza Hotel in New York. He sold half of his shares in the latter in August 2004. He has made investments in London's Savoy Hotel and Monaco's Monte Carlo Grand Hotel. He currently holds a 10% stake in Euro Disney SCA, the company that owns, manages and maintains Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallee, France.

In January 2005, Al-Waleed purchased the Savoy Hotel in London for an estimated GBP £250 million, to be managed by Fairmont Hotels; his sister, The Princess Sultana Nurul Al-Waleed owns an estimated 16% stake. In January 2006, in partnership with the U.S. real estate firm Colony Capital, Kingdom Holding acquired Toronto, CA-based Fairmont Hotels for an estimated $3.9 billion.

In August 2011, Al-Waleed announced that his company had contracted Saudi Binladen Group to build the next tallest building in the World, the Kingdom Tower at a height of at least 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) for SR 4.6 billion. The original plan announced in 2008 called it برج الميل (Arabic for "the Tower of One Mile") at 1,609 metres (5,279 ft) and an estimated cost of US$10 billion.

In 1997, Time Magazine reported that bin Talal owned about 5 percent of News Corporation. By 2010 Alwaleed's stake in News Corp. was a stake of about 7% worth $3Bn; and News Corp. had a $70 million (9%) investment in Al-Waleed's Rotana Group, the Arab World's largest entertainment company. This review of his holdings also referred to the Al-Waleed investment AOL as if it was perhaps in the past.

In June 2011 bin Tahal was linked with a takeover of Premier League football club Everton for a reported £100 million. It remains to be seen whether or not he will follow up on the link.[citation needed]

In December 2011, bin Tahal invested $300 Million in Twitter through the purchase of secondary shares from insiders. The purchase gives Kingdom Holding a "more than 3% share" of the company, which was valued at $8Bn in late summer 2011.

Assets

Al-Waleed owns the 85.9-meter (282-foot) yacht Kingdom 5KR,, originally built as the "Nabila" for Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi. The yacht posed as the Flying Saucer, the yacht of James Bond villain Largo in the film Never Say Never Again. It was later sold to Donald Trump, who renamed her Trump Princess. Al-Waleed bought back the yacht after Trump's second bankruptcy.

He has ordered a new yacht currently known as the New Kingdom 5KR which will be about 173 meters (557 feet) long and carries an estimated cost of over $500 million. The yacht is rendered by Lindsey Design and is expected to be delivered in late 2010.

Al-Waleed owns several aircraft, all converted for private use: a Boeing 747, an Airbus 321 and an Hawker Siddeley 125. Also on order is an Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft, which is scheduled for delivery in 2012. This has been noted in the 2009 Guinness World Records as the largest private jet in the world.

Al-Waleed also owns more than 200 cars, including Rolls Royces, Lamborghinis, Ferraris etc.

The Economist has expressed doubts about the source of income of Prince Al Waleed and whether he is a front man for other Saudi investors. According to it, his income in the 1990s was insufficient to cover his expenditures. "You could barely clothe a Saudi prince for such sums, let alone furnish him with a multi-billion-dollar empire. Nevertheless, by 1991 Prince Alwaleed had felt able to risk an investment of $797m in Citicorp", writes the magazine.

Among his many assets are: a 95 percent stake in Kingdom Holding Company; 91 percent ownership of Rotana Video & Audio Visual Company; 90 percent ownership of LBC SAT; 7 percent ownership of News Corporation; about 6 percent ownership of Citigroup; and 17 percent ownership of Al Nahar and 25 percent ownership of Al Diyar, two daily newspapers published in Lebanon.

In addition to his 63rd place ranking on the Forbes Billionaire List in 2011, Prince Al-Waleed topped the first Saudi Rich List issued in 2009, with a fortune of $16.3bn.

From : www.wikipedia.org

Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi

Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al Amoudi (Ge'ez: ሞሓመድ አልአሙዲ, Arabic: محمد حسين العمودي; is a Saudi Arabian/Ethiopian businessman and billionaire who lives in Ethiopia and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. As of 2011, his net worth has been estimated by Forbes at $12.3 billion, making him the 63rd richest person in the world. This listing also ranks him as the richest person in Ethiopia and the second richest Saudi Arabian citizen in the world.

Al Amoudi made his fortune in construction and real estate before branching out to buy oil refineries in Sweden and Morocco. He is said to be the largest foreign investor in both Sweden and Ethiopia.

Early Years

Al Amoudi was born in Ethiopia of a Hadhrami Yemeni father and an Ethiopian mother. He grew up in Ethiopia, before immigrating to Saudi Arabia when he was 19 and becoming a Saudi citizen.

Business Activities

Al Amoudi's construction company consortium, Mohammed International Development Research and Organization Companies, also known as MIDROC, won an important contract to build Saudi Arabia's estimated $30 billion nationwide underground oil storage complex in 1988. MIDROC acquired Yanbu Steel in Saudi Arabia in 2000.

In addition to his substantial business interests in Ethiopia, he also owns oil refineries in Morocco and Sweden and is engaged in energy exploration and production off West Africa and elsewhere. His Addis Ababa Sheraton is said to be among the finest hotels in Africa.

Al Amoudi owns a broad portfolio of businesses not only in oil but also in mining, agriculture, hotels, hospitals, finance, operations and maintenance. His businesses are largely to be found within two conglomerate holding and operating companies, Corral Petroleum Holdings and MIDROC, both which he owns and manages. He employs over 40,000 people through these companies.

He has recently pledged US$275 million alongside other Saudi and South Korean investors through MIDROC to finance a factory to build Saudi Arabia's first car, to be called Gazal-1, in a project initiated by King Saud University and, in September 2011, it was announced that he planned to invest around US$1.07bn (4bn Saudi Riyals) in two major Saudi industrial projects (phosphate derivatives and sulfur) in Ras Al Khair [Eastern Region] and Jubail Industrial City respectively.

Personal Life

Al Amoudi splits his residence between Ethiopia and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He is married to Sofia Saleh Al Amoudi, a Saudi citizen and shareholder of MIDROC Construction.

From : www.wikipedia.org

Adnan Khashoggi

Adnan Khashoggi (Arabic: عدنان خاشقجي‎, born 25 July 1935) is a Saudi Arabian arms-dealer and businessman. He is also noted for his engagements with high society in both the Occident and Arabic-speaking worlds, and for his involvement in the Iran–Contra and Lockheed bribery scandals, and numerous other affairs. He was considered the richest man in the world in the 1980s.

Early Life

Khashoggi was born in Mecca, the son of Muhammad Khashoggi, a medical doctor who was King Abdel Aziz Al Saud's personal physician. His family is of Turkish ancestry. The family moved from the Iberian Peninsula and settled in Saudi Arabia. Adnan Khashoggi's sister Samira Khashoggi Fayed married Mohammed Al-Fayed and was the mother of Dodi Fayed.

Khashoggi was educated at Victoria College in Alexandria, Egypt, California State University, Chico, Ohio State University, and Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, USA. Khashoggi later left his studies in order to seek his fortune in business.

Business Career

Khashoggi headed a company called Triad Holding Company, which among other things built the Triad Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, which later went bankrupt. He was famed as an arms dealer, brokering deals between US firms and the Saudi government, most actively in the 1960s and 1970s. In the documentary series The Mayfair Set, Saudi author Said Aburish states that one of Adnan's first weapons deals was providing David Stirling with weapons for a covert mission in Yemen during the Aden Emergency in 1963. Among his overseas clients were defense contractors Lockheed Corporation (now Lockheed Martin Corporation), Raytheon, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation and Northrop Corporation (which have now merged into Northrop Grumman).

Between 1970 and 1975, Lockheed paid Khashoggi $106 million in commissions. His commissions started at 2.5% + and eventually rose to as much as 15%. Khashoggi "became for all practical purposes a marketing arm of Lockheed. Adnan would provide not only an entree but strategy, constant advice, and analysis," according to Max Helzel, then vice president of Lockheed's international marketing.

A shrewd businessman, he covered his financial tracks by establishing front companies in Switzerland and Liechtenstein to handle his commissions as well as developing contacts with notables such as CIA officers James H. Critchfield and Kim Roosevelt and US businessman Bebe Rebozo, a close associate of former US President Richard Nixon. He was also involved in diamond mining in the Central African Empire, working closely with Emperor Bokassa. His yacht, the Nabila, was the largest in the world at the time and was used in the James Bond film Never Say Never Again.

Personal Life

In the 1960s he married 20-year old Englishwoman Sandra Daly who took the name Soraya Khashoggi. They raised one daughter and four sons together.

Khashoggi continues to live a quiet life in the Principality of Monaco, even after a British court ordered him to pay £7 million to a creditor. His services as a facilitator have been a recurring feature throughout US administrations since Nixon; most recently, he met with Richard Perle shortly before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Khashoggi has eight children.

In the 1980s the Khashoggi family occupied one of the largest villa estates in Marbella, hosting lavish parties usually arranged by Marbella's "Monroe's" club proprietor and local celebrity Robert Young (born Robert Parkes UK 1953) These parties were legendary, and guests included film stars, politicians, and pop celebrities. Food was supplied by up to 6 resident chefs, and it is said that champagne was kept in specially cooled trailers parked in the vast grounds of the complex.

In 1985, celebrity reporter Robin Leach declared a birthday party in Vienna that Khashoggi threw for his eldest son to be "the most extravagant event in European history."

DNA testing in 1999 confirmed that his daughter Petrina Khashoggi, was in fact biologically not his, but Jonathan Aitken's and Soraya's child.

From : www.wikipedia.org

Nayef - Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia

Nayef bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, also spelled Naif, (Arabic: الأمير نايف بن عبد العزيز آل سعود‎) (1933-) is the Crown Prince (as of October 27, 2011), First Deputy Prime Minister and long time Minister of Interior of Saudi Arabia. He is a half-brother of King Abdullah. He is one of the five surviving members of the Sudairi Seven.

Early life and education

Nayef was born in Taif in 1933. He received his education at "The Princes School" and at the hands of senior ulema (religious leaders). In addition, he has read widely in politics, diplomacy, and security.

In 1953, at the age of 20, he became Governor of Riyadh. From 1954 to 1970, he served as Deputy Minister of the Interior. In 1970, King Faisal promoted him to Minister of State for Internal Affairs

Minister of Interior

Timeline : In March 1975, King Faisal's assassination made then-Minister of Interior Prince Fahd Crown Prince. Nayef replaced Fahd as Minister of Interior.

In December 1994, he ordered hundreds of terrorism-related arrests with the support of Prince Turki, head of Saudi intelligence services.

In November 2001, he issued all women in Saudi Arabia identity cards. Women were previously registered under their husband's or father's name.

In April 2001, he, not Foreign Minister Saud al Faisal, went to Iran as Saudi envoy in an unprecedented move.

After the September 11 attacks, he received U.S. criticism for not undertaking sufficient action against extremists.

In July 2003, Senator Charles Schumer lobbied through Prince Bandar to remove Nayef as Minister of Interior.

Between 2003 and 2006, he led Saudi's confrontation against al Qaeda, which sponsored a series of domestic attacks on expatriate housing compounds, oil infrastructure, and industrial facilities. His political stance was strengthened because of increased media exposure and the successful end to terrorist attacks.

In March 2011, during the 2011 Saudi Arabian protests, 200 people who called for more information on their imprisoned relatives were denied a meeting with Nayef.

Influence : He had members of the Ministry of Interior placed in all overseas embassies. 

His career was propelled by his full-brother King Fahd. Under Fahd, the Ministry of Interior became one of the most influential bureaucracies in Saudi Arabia. He served as a mediator in disputes between Fahd and Sultan. As Fahd's health deteriorated, his power gradually diminished as well. However, Nayef is currently the most influential of the Sudairi Seven. He has delegated the day-to-day responsibilities of his ministry to Deputy Minister Prince Ahmed and to his son, Prince Muhammad.

In 2003, he "threatened to cancel certain business deals with the French government" if the narcotics investigation of Prince Nayef bin Sultan bin Fawwaz al-Shaalan continued.

When meeting with US diplomats in 2009, he voiced support for aggressive activity against Iran after what he believed was a breach of the 2001 security agreement. He urged European nations to hand in terrorist suspects and asked for U.S. intercession. He said the most effective way to combat extremism was through Friday sermons.

Recent positions and succession to the throne

In March 2009, Nayef became Second Deputy Prime Minister. It caused a rare public split in the royal family. Prince Talal called on the King to clarify that the appointment did not necessarily mean that Nayef would become Crown Prince. The appointment expanded his influence into all corners of Saudi domestic policy and allowed him to partake in the development of foreign policy. He is not expected to interfere in economic matters, but may influence the judiciary.

He chaired many cabinet meetings when Abdullah and Sultan were away for health reasons.[4] Critics said he was behind the cancellation of the nation's only film festival in the summer of 2009. In November 2010, he undertook all Hajj-related responsibities. In some government offices, his picture was added next to Abdul-Aziz, Abdullah and Sultan.

According to leaked cables, he advocated a tougher approach than King Abdullah towards Yemeni President Saleh in 2009.

He was appointed Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and First Deputy Prime Minister by his half-brother King Abdullah on October 27, 2011, five days after the death of his brother, Crown Prince Sultan.

Personal life

He has been active in philanthropy to Palestinians, Indonesians and Pakistanis.

He is said to be suffering from diabetes mellitus and osteoporosis.

From : www.wikipedia.org

Fahd of Saudi Arabia

Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, (Arabic: فهد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود‎ Fahd ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Su‘ūd) (16 March 1921 – 1 August 2005) was King of Saudi Arabia from 1982 to 2005. One of forty-five sons of Saudi founder Ibn Saud, and the fourth of his five sons who have ruled the Kingdom (Saud, Faisal, Khalid, Fahd, and Abdullah), Fahd ascended to the throne on the death of his half-brother, King Khalid, on 13 June 1982.

Fahd was appointed Crown Prince when Khalid succeeded their half-brother King Faisal, who was assassinated in 1975. Fahd was viewed as the de facto prime minister during King Khalid's reign in part due to the latter's ill health.

Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke on 29 November 1995, after which he was unable to continue performing his full official duties. His half-brother, Abdullah, the country's Crown Prince, served as de facto regent of the kingdom and succeeded Fahd as monarch upon his death on 1 August 2005.

King Fahd is credited for having introduced the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia in 1992.

Early life

At the age of 11 in 1932, Fahd watched as his father officially founded the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by signing the Treaty of Jeddah.

Fahd's education took place at the Princes' School in Riyadh, a school established by Ibn Saud specifically for the education of members of the House of Saud. While at the Princes' School, Fahd studied under tutors including Sheikh Abdul-Ghani Khayat.

In 1945 Fahd travelled on his first state visit to New York City to attend the opening session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. On this trip Fahd served under his brother, King Faisal, who was at the time Saudi Arabia's foreign minister.

Early political positions

In 1953, at the age of 32, Fahd was appointed Education Minister by his father. Also in 1953, Fahd led his first official state visit, attending the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on behalf of the House of Saud.

Fahd had two brothers born before him, Nasir and Saad, who had prior claims to the throne but both were considered unsuitable candidates. By contrast, Fahd had served as minister of education from 1953 to 1960 and minister of interior from 1962 to 1968.

Fahd led the Saudi delegation to the League of Arab States in 1959, signifying his increasing prominence in the House of Saud — and that he was being groomed for a more significant role.

In 1962, Fahd was given the important post of Interior Minister and six years later he was the first person appointed to the position of Second Deputy Prime Minister. After the death of King Faisal in 1975, Fahd was named first deputy Prime Minister and concurrently Crown Prince.

Family and progeny

King Fahd was married at least four times. He had six sons and three daughters. His sons were:

    * Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud (1946–1999) Died of a heart attack. Director-general of Youth Welfare (1971–99), Director-general at Ministry of Planning and Minister of State (1977–1999).

    * Khalid bin Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud (born 1947).

    * Muhammad bin Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud (born 1950), governor of the Eastern province.

    * Saud bin Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud (born 1950), former deputy president of the General Intelligence Directorate.

    * Sultan bin Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud (born 1951), Army Officer. Elevated to ministerial rank in November 1997. Current head of Youth Welfare.

    * Abdul-Aziz bin Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, (born 1971), Fahd's favorite and youngest son and minister of state without portfolio. He is the son of Princess Jawhara al-Ibrahim, Fahd's fourth and, reportedly, favorite wife.

Reign

On 25 March 1975, King Faisal was assassinated by his nephew and King Khalid assumed power. Fahd, as next in the line of succession, became Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister. Especially in the later years of King Khalid's reign, Fahd was viewed as the de facto prime minister. When King Khalid died on 13 June 1982, Fahd succeeded to the throne. He adopted the title "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" in 1986, replacing "His Majesty", to signify an Islamic rather than secular authority.

Death

King Fahd was admitted to the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the capital, Riyadh on 27 May 2005 for unspecified medical tests. An official (who insisted on anonymity) told the Associated Press unofficially that the king had died at 7:30 EDT on 1 August 2005. A member of the cabinet publicly announced his death on Saudi TV the same morning, and said that he died of pneumonia and a high fever.

Wealth

His wealth was estimated to be at $25 billion.

From : www.wikipedia.org

Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, (Arabic: عبد الله بن عبد العزيز آل سعود‎ ‘Abd ullāh ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Su‘ūd) (born August 1, 1924) is the King of Saudi Arabia. He succeeded to the throne on 1 August 2005 upon the death of his half-brother, King Fahd. When Crown Prince, he governed Saudi Arabia as regent from 1998 to 2005. He was Commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard from 1962 to November 2010, and is one of the world's wealthiest royals.

Second Deputy Prime Minister

King Khalid appointed Abdullah as Second Deputy Prime Minister, which is second in line of succession to the Saudi throne. However, Abdullah's appointment caused friction in the House of Saud. Fahd and the Sudairi Seven supported the appointment of their own full brother, Sultan.[4] Abdullah was pressured to concede control of SANG in return for his appointment as Second Deputy Prime Minister. In August 1977, this caused a debate between hundreds of princes in Riyadh.[4] Abdullah did not concede authority of SANG because he feared that would weaken his authority.

Crown Prince

In May 1982, when Fahd became King, Abdullah became Crown Prince the same day. He maintained his position as head of the armed forces.

When Fahd was incapacitated by a major stroke in 1995, Abdullah acted as de facto regent ruler of Saudi Arabia.

In August 2001, he ordered Ambassador Bandar bin Sultan to return to Washington. This reportedly occurred after Abdullah witnessed a brutality between an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian woman. He later also condemned Israel for attacking families of accused suspects.

King of Saudi Arabia

Abdullah succeeded to the throne upon the death of his half-brother King Fahd. He was formally enthroned on August 3, 2005. At age 87, he is one of the world's oldest reigning monarchs. He has topped the 500 Most Influential Muslims list for two consecutive years in 2009 and 2010.

Succession to the throne

King Abdullah's half brother Crown Prince Sultan was his heir-apparent until his death on October 22, 2011. The current Crown Prince is Sultan's full brother, Prince Nayef

In 2006, Abdullah set up the Allegiance Council, a body that is composed of the sons and grandsons of Saudi Arabia's founder, King Abdul-Aziz, to vote by a secret ballot to choose future kings and crown princes. The council's mandate was not to have started until after the reigns of both Abdullah and Sultan were over. It was not clear, what was to happen, when Sultan died before the end of Abdullah's reign, leaving a question as to whether the council would vote for a new crown prince, or whether Nayef would automatically fill that position. Prince Nayef was appointed Crown Prince on October 27, 2011 after consultation with the Allegiance Council by Abdullah.

In November 2010, Prince Nayef chaired a cabinet meeting because of the deterioration of the King's health. During the same month, King Abdullah transferred his duties as Commander of the Saudi National Guard to his son Prince Mutaib. Abdullah is credited with building up the once largely ceremonial unit into a modern 260,000-strong force that is a counterweight to the army. The Guard, which was Abdullah's original power base, protects the royal family. This was suggested as an apparent sign that the elderly monarch is beginning to lessen some of his duties.

Family

Abdullah is the sixth son (out of 37 sons) of King Abdul-Aziz,[citation needed] the founder of modern Saudi Arabia, to ascend to the throne. He is, after his half-brothers Bandar and Musaid, the third eldest of the living sons of Abdul-Aziz.

His mother is a فهدة العاصي الشريم Al-Rashidi, longtime rivals of the Al Saud. He has had more than thirty wives, and has fathered at least thirty-five children.  His youngest son was born in 2003. His son Prince Mutaib is the Commander of the National Guard. His son Prince Mishaal is the Governor of the Najran Province. His daughter Princess Adila is married to Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin Muhammad, the new Education Minister appointed in 2009. Adila is one of the few Saudi princesses with a semi-public role and a known advocate of women's right to drive. His son Prince Abdul-Aziz is his Syrian adviser. His son Faisal is the head of the Saudi Arabian Red Crescent Society. His son Khaled is Deputy Commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard West.

Philanthropy

    * King Abdullah paid for the separation surgery of a pair of Polish conjoined twins, which took place at the King Abd al-Aziz Medical City in Riyadh on January 3, 2005. He was given "honorary citizenship" by the Polish town of Janikowo, where the twins were born. On March 18, 2005, he was awarded the Order of the Smile (which he received during his visit to Poland in 2007).

    * He has established two libraries, the King Abdulaziz Library in Riyadh and another in Casablanca, Morocco.

    * He donated over $300,000 to furnish a New Orleans high school rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.

    * He donated half a billion dollars to the United Nations World Food Programme in 2008

    * He has donated $50 million in cash and $10 million worth of relief materials for the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China.

    * He donated $10 billion to the endowment fund of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in May 2008.

    * He established the King Abdullah University (Rawalakot) in Pakistan's Azad Jammu and Kashmir region after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake.

    * On February 5, 2011, he waived $156 million USD of housing loans for nearly 3,300 Saudis who had died.

Wealth

His wealth and personal income is estimated at US$21 billion, ranking him as one of the richest royals in the world.

From : www.wikipedia.org