• Member, Saudi Royal Family
• Owner, Kingdom Holding Company
• 22nd Richest Person in the World¹

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud (الوليد بن طلال بن عبد العزيز آل سعود) was born was born in 1955 in Riyadh.  He is the grandson of King Abdulaziz Alsaud, founder and first ruler of Saudi Arabia, and Riad El Solh, an iconic statesman in Lebanon’s drive for independence and its first Prime Minister. ²

He graduated magna cum laude in 1979 from Menlo College, California with a B. Sc. in Business Administration.  In 1985, he received a M.A. in Social Science from Syracuse University.  According to his CV, the Prince began building his investment portfolio in 1979, when he returned to Saudi Arabia after earning his Bachelor’s degree in the US. Prince Alwaleed established a number of business ventures, initially focusing on construction and real estate. Over time, the Prince’s investments rapidly grew and eventually led to the formation of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), which invested along side other entities controlled by HRH, in banking, telecommunications, broadcasting & media, entertainment, hospitality, computers and electronics, agriculture, restaurants, upscale fashion, retailing, supermarkets, tourism, travel, and automotive manufacturing.³

The Prince is known for having extremely elaborate and ornate taste.  He owns a palace that cost more than $100 million dollars to build.  He owns the Kingdom 5K-R an internationally renowned superyacht that was previously owned by international weapons trafficker Adnan Khashoggi, who was intensely connected to the Bank of Credit and Commerce International.⁴  A 1997 article from Time Magazine describes some of the Prince’s assets:

His only vice seems to be, hardly surprisingly, an appetite for luxury. He is very fond of his 282-ft. Kingdom 5-KR, the ostentatious yacht formerly owned by Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi and then by Donald Trump, who called it the Trump Princess before the banks took it back. Alwaleed keeps the boat moored in the southern French resort of Cannes. He takes about three long business trips a year and, depending on the distance, can choose from a private jet fleet that includes a Boeing 767, a Boeing 727 and a Challenger 601. He owns some 300 cars, including a blue Rolls-Royce for his daughter.

Then there is the new $100 million palace. Even in Saudi Arabia, they are not building houses like this one any longer. In February, Alwaleed and his children are scheduled to move into a sand-colored palace whose 317 rooms are adorned with 1,500 tons of Italian marble, silk Oriental carpets, gold-plated faucets and 250 TV sets. It will have four kitchens, for Lebanese, Arabic, Continental and Asian cuisines, and a fifth just for dishing up desserts, run by chefs who can feed 2,000 people on an hour’s notice. Their royal highnesses will be able to swim in a lagoon-shaped pool, or catch a film in the 45-seat basement cinema. ⁵

Forbes List of Richest Billionaires

For a number of years, the Prince has been ranked within the top twenty-five richest billionaires in the world.  In 2005, he was ranked 5th on the Forbes list of the richest people in the world with $23.7 billion.⁶  In 2006, he was ranked 8th with $20 billion.⁷  In 2007, he was ranked 13th with $20.3 billion.⁸ In 2008, he was ranked nineteenth with $21 billion.⁹ In 2009, he was ranked 22th with $13.3 billion.¹⁰

Privately Owned Companies

• Kingdom Holding Company, 95%
• Rotana Video & Audio Visual Co., 100%
• Lebanese Broadcasting Center (LBCSAT), 90%
• Arab Palestinian Investment Company Ltd. (APIC), 4%
• Citigroup Preferred Shares, less than 1%

Medals¹¹

• 1997: The Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic; awarded to Prince Alwaleed by The Scientific Committee of the Italian Pio Manzù International Research Centre, as a token of recognition of the Prince’s highly successful and thriving career and outstanding business flair and acumen.
• 1997: The Star Decoration of the First Order; awarded to Prince Alwaleed by the late, King Hussein Bin Talal of Jordan, in recognition of the Prince’s regional and international investments and philanthropy.
• 1998: The National Cedar Decoration of the Commander Order; awarded to Prince Alwaleed by Former Lebanese President Elias Harawi in recognition of the Prince’s economic and social contributions to Lebanon.
• 1999: The Diplomatic Merit of the Heung Korean; awarded to Prince Alwaleed by President Kim Dae-Jung in recognition of the Prince’s investments in Korea.
• 2000: The Bethlehem 2000 Medal; awarded to Prince Alwaleed by Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat for his continuous support to the Palestinian cause.
• 2001: Laila Utama Darja Kerabat Seri Utama Yang Amat Dihormati; the most esteemed royal family order, presented by Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah to Prince Alwaleed for promoting bilateral relations between Brunei and Saudi Arabia.
• 2002: King AbdulAziz Medal of the First Order for Distinguished Businessmen; awarded to Prince Alwaleed by Crown Prince Abdullah Bin AbdulAziz on behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd.
• 2002: The National Cedar Medal, Order of the Grand Officer; awarded to Prince Alwaleed by Lebanese President Emile Lahoud for the Prince’s contributions and support to Lebanon and the Lebanese economy.
• 2002: The Medal of the Republic of Tunisia of the Great Order; awarded to Prince Alwaleed by Tunisian President Zein Al Abidine Bin Ali in recognition of the Prince’s efforts in promoting bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.
• 2003: The Presidential Medal of Bosnia and Herzegovina; awarded to Prince Alwaleed by the President of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sulejman Tihic in recognition of the Prince’s support of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its people.
• 2003: The Medal with the rank of “Grand Officer of the National Order of the Lion”; awarded to Prince Alwaleed by the President of Senegal Mr. Abdoulaye Wade in recognition of the Prince’s efforts in promoting bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and Senegal.
• 2003: The Medal with the rank of “Commander of the National Order of Merit of the Republic of Guinea”; awarded to Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal by the President of Guinea Mr. Lansana Conte in recognition of the Prince’s efforts in promoting bilateral relations.
• 2003: The Medal with the rank of “Grand Officer of the Order of Mono”; awarded to Prince Alwaleed by the President of Togo Mr. Gnassingbe Eyadema in recognition of the Prince’s efforts in promoting bilateral relations.
• 2003: The Medal with the rank of “Commander of the National Order”; awarded to Prince Alwaleed by the President of Burkina Faso Mr. Blaise Compaore in recognition of the Prince’s efforts in promoting bilateral relations.
• 2003: The Medal with the title order to the civil merits of “Grand Cross of the Order of the Independence of Equatorial Guinea”; awarded to Prince Alwaleed by the President of Equatorial Guinea Mr. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo in recognition of the Prince’s efforts in promoting bilateral relations.
• 2003: The Medal with the rank of “The Officer in The Order of Oranje-Nassau”; bestowed upon Prince Alwaleed by H. M. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands for the Prince’s distinguished role in promoting Dutch-Saudi economic relations.
• 2003: The November 7th Medal; awarded to Prince Alwaleed by Tunisian President Zein Al Abidine Bin Ali in recognition of the Prince’s humanitarian efforts in Tunisia and around the world.
• 2004: The Medal with the rank of “Commander of the Order of the Star of Anjouan”; bestowed up on Prince Alwaleed by the President of the Union of the Comoros, Azali Assoumani
• 2004: The Medal with the rank of “Commander of the Order of the Grand Star of Djibouti”; awarded to Prince Alwaleed by President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti.
• 2004:The Presidential Medallion of the Republic of Djibouti; Awarded to Prince Alwaleed by the President of Djibouti.
• 2004:The Medallion of the 20PthP Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Djibouti; awarded to Prince Alwaleed by the President of Djibouti.
• 2004: The Medal of “The Grand Cross of the National Order Of Merit”; bestowed upon Prince Alwaleed by the President of Gabon Col. Omar Bongo.
• 2004: The Medal with the rank of “Dignity of Grand Officer of the National Order of the Republic of Chad”; bestowed upon Prince Alwaleed by the president of Chad Idriss Deby.
• 2005: The medal of “The Insignia of Grand Officer”; bestowed upon Prince Alwaleed by the President of Gambia, Dr. Yahya A. J. Jammah
• 2005: The medal with the rank of “The Commander of the National Order”; awarded to Prince Alwaleed by the President of Mali, Amadou Toure
• 2005: The medal of “The Star of Africa” with the Grade of Grand Band; awarded to Prince Alwaleed by the President of Liberia, President Gyude Bryant
• 2005: The medal with the rank of “Grand Officer of the National Order”; awarded by Benin President Mathieu Kerekou.
• 2005: The medal of “The Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya”; bestowed upon Prince Alwaleed by Kenyan President, Mwai Kibaki.
• 2006: The medal of “Legion of Honor with the rank of Commander”; bestowed upon Prince Alwaleed by the French President Jacques Chirac. The medal is France’s highest civilian honor.
• 2006: The Umayyah National Medal; bestowed upon Prince Alwaleed by the Syrian President Bashar Al-Asaad. The medal is the country’s highest civilian honor.
• 2006: The Hilal-i-Pakistan Medal; bestowed upon Prince Alwaleed by the Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf. The medal is the country’s highest civilian honor.
• 2006: The Companion of the Order of the Volta Medal; bestowed upon Prince Alwaleed by the President of Ghana John Agyekum Kufuor.
• 2006: The Commander of the National Order of the Grand Cross Star Medal; bestowed upon Prince Alwaleed by the President of Cote D’Ivoire/Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo.
• 2006: The Order of the Merit of Niger Medal; bestowed upon Prince Alwaleed by the President of the Niger Mamadou Tandja.
• 2006: The Grand Commander of the Order of the Pearl of Africa Medal; bestowed upon Prince Alwaleed by the President of Uganda Yower Museveni.
• 2006: The National Medal of Merit for Cooperative Development; bestowed upon Prince Alwaleed by the President of Guinea-Bissau João Bernardo Vieira.
• 2007: The Order of the Golden Heart With the Rank of Grand Officer; bestowed upon Prince Alwaleed by H.E President of the Philippines Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
• 2007: The Medal of Major Patron of the Arts; bestowed upon Prince Alwaleed by the French Minister of Culture and Communication HE Mrs. Christine Albanel.
• 2007: The Order of the Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon Medal; bestowed upon Prince Alwaleed by the President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) HE Mr. Chen Shui-bian. The medal is the country’s highest civilian honor.
• 2008: The Pontifical Medal; bestowed by Pope Benedict XVI during a ceremony held at the Vatican to H.E. Ms. Leila El Solh, Vice Chairman of Alwaleed Bin Talal Humanitarian Foundation in Beirut.
• 2008: The Genghis Khan Medal; bestowed upon Prince Alwaleed by President of Mongolia Nambaryn Enkhbayar.
• 2008: The 0TMaronite General Council0T has granted HRH Prince Alwaleed the “Golden Order of the 0TMaronite General Council0T” for his distinctive contributions to the Council and to Lebanon.
• 2008: The “Residential Coat of Arms”, the Highest Honor granted by the State of Eritrea, was bestowed by the Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki upon HRH Prince Alwaleed.

Honorary Degrees & Academic Awards¹²

1 – Doctorate of Humane Letters, honoris causa, University of New Haven, 1992

2 – Doctorate in Business Management, Kyungwon University in Seoul, Korea, 1998

3 – Doctorate in Law, Syracuse University, 1999

4 – Doctorate in Law, Exeter University, 2002

5 – Doctorate in Law, American University in Cairo, 2002

6 – Doctorate in Humanities, AlAqsa University in Gaza, 2004

7 – Doctorate of Letters, honoris causa, University for Development Studies in Ghana, 2004

8 – Honorary Doctorate of Letters, The Islamic University of Uganda, 2005

9 – Honorary Doctorate, The University of the 7PthP of November at Carthage in Tunis, 2007

10- Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration with Distinction from the International Islamic University in Malaysia, 2007

11- Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance in Malaysia, 2007

12- Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration from the Commission on Higher Education Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao & Wisdom International School for Higher Education Studies in Philippines, 2008

13- Honorary Doctorate of Commercial Sciences from The St. John’s University in New York, 2008

14- Honorary Doctorate of Management Science from Brawijaya University in Indonesia, 2008

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