Prince Alwaleed bin Talal

Prince Alwaleed is the member of the Saudi royal family. He is also Chairman of Kingdom Holdings. This company has investments all over the world, totaling over $15 billion. It is a major shareholder in Disneyland Paris, where it holds a 25% stake. The company also owns the Four Seasons hotel group, has a 5% shareholding in Citicorp, owns 5% of Apple Computers, and in addition has stakes in many other companies such as TWA, Netscape and Motorola.

Prince Alwaleed is one of the most successful investors in the world. Chairman of his first company at the age of fourteen, Prince Alwaleed was brought up in Beirut before returning to Saudi Arabia to attend military school.

He studied at University in San Francisco and got his Masters from Syracuse University. He made his first fortune in the eighties investing in real estate in Saudi Arabia. He also worked as a local partner for Korean companies in the country. By 1988 he was worth over $1billion. Luckily for him there is no income tax in Saudi Arabia.

In 1991 he made the first investment in his life. He bought shares for $890 million in Citicorp, America’s largest bank at that time. That stake is now worth $5.5 billion. His latest project is to built the highest skyscraper in Riyadh. Riyadh is continuing to grow as the commercial capital of Saudi Arabia, and it looks as if the $350 m Kingdom Centre will be yet another profitable investment.