Prince Alwaleed bin Talal lives an extraordinary life and is one of the wealthiest men in Forbes list. The magazine currently has Alwaleed at 34th number with $22.6 billion in wealth. (Bloomberg lists him as the 20th wealthiest in the world, with $30.6 billion in wealth.)
His earnings are mainly comprised of his shares in his Kingdom Holding Company, his Saudi real estate investments, shares in Arab media companies, and investments in public and private companies globally, including Twitter and Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com.
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal belongs to Royal family of Saudi Arabia, born to Prince Talal and Mona Al Solh. His maternal grandfather was the first prime minister of Lebanon and his paternal grandfather, King Abdul Aziz, created Saudi Arabia.
He married Princess Ameera and she was his fourth wife. They were married for eight years before announcing separation. Prince Alwaleed had great regard for his wife.
He received a $30,000 gift, a $300,000 loan, and a house from his father after graduating. He used this money and slowly started investing.
He went to California school for college and got inspired by western culture. His initial break came when he invested in Citicorp. By 2005, that had turned into $10 billion.
He has met many of the richest and most impressive people on the planet. He and his then-wife were guests at Kate Middleton and Prince William’s royal wedding, and he has met the Queen of England, Prince Charles, Nicholas Sarkozy, Queen Rania of Jordan, Michael Jackson, and the former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, among others.
He owns a lot of jewelry, which is approximately worth $700 million. Forbes’ Kerry Dolan wrote, “The most spectacular set on display was a diamond and emerald necklace with three emeralds the size of sparrow eggs dangling from the center, with earrings and a ring to match. With a combined total of 200 carats, the set is worth $40 million.”
He loves to watch CNBC and has once invited to the TV channel. He has an odd routine and sleeps for only 4 hours; He goes to bed at 4 or 5 am. According to Forbes he has one big meal a day a 8 pm, which he calls “lunch.”
He also campaigns for women rights, however, he is often blamed for using it for personal gains and publicity.
He has 25% shares in New York’s famous Plaza Hotel. There were also rumors that he is in the race to buy the iconic hotel. The prince also possesses the Savoy Hotel in London, and has shares in Four Seasons. He also owns the third biggest yacht in the world. He bought it for $ 500 million.
It is also a fact that he heads the project of the tallest skyscraper of the world, the Kingdom Tower.
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal owns an amazing collection of cars also. The stock contains a Rolls Royce Phantom, which is just under $500,000, a $48 million diamond-encrusted Mercedes Benz SL 600, and many other Lamborghinis and Ferraris.
He bought (and then sold) an Airbus 380 plane, however, he still has Boeing 747. It has a throne, two bedrooms, and a 14-seat dining table with 11 flight attendants from around the world.
His palace in Riyadh has 420 rooms. It is built from quality marble. It also has two indoor pools and an outdoor tennis court.
Furthermore, he also has a 120 acres farm on the bounds of the city. It contains a mini category of the Grand Canyon, a mini-zoo, horse stables, and five artificial lakes.
It is also known that he goes for hunting. According to Forbes, his prized animal is a stuffed zebra that he killed with his daughter.
It has been reported that like Alwaleed keeps a group of dancing, laughing, joking dwarfs. Furthermore, it is stated that this is an act of charity as these people otherwise are not accepted and are considered as freaks.
Alwaleed is also known for doing massive charity work through the Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation.
Source: Business Insider
