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Buffett and the Prince
After losing billions on U.S. stocks beginning in 2000, Alwaleed Bin Talal says he may become richer than the Oracle of Omaha. His strategy: holding an IPO for his luxury hotels and building the worlds tallest tower in his homeland.
By Vernon Silver
Bloomberg Markets, June 2010
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal sits under an almost full moon near a campfire at his rustic retreat in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Hes surrounded by a zoo with zebras and giraffes, an artificial lake and a lodge that has an indoor pool, saunas and steam rooms. Three hooded falcons are perched on stands in front of him.
Five young women, dressed in black miniskirts and jackets and orange knee-high boots that match their nail polish, serve clove-and-cardamom tea to Alwaleed and his entourage, which includes his personal physician.
On this evening in late March, the prince perks up in his easy chair as a newscast on a large-screen television behind the campfire reports on a rally in global hotel stocks -- a sign of hope for the billionaire investor whos trying to revive his slumping fortune, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its June issue.
Hotels are on the way up; theyre taking off, says Alwaleed, before he rises to lead about 15 courtiers and retainers down a hill for a feast of Saudi, Lebanese and Italian food.
Alwaleed, 55, one of the worlds richest men, saw his net worth climb to $21.1 billion in May 2000, according to his tally of investments and personal wealth. He achieved that mostly by investing in big-name companies such as Apple Inc. and News Corp.
Since then, many stocks have turned against him, especially those of Citigroup Inc. and Time Warner Inc. The Saudi royals fortune has been trimmed to $16.6 billion, based on the value of his Kingdom Holding Co. stake on March 31 and his personal assets as of Feb. 10.
Buffett of Arabia
Alwaleed often refers to himself as the Buffett of Arabia, although the comparison to Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., doesnt hold up. Berkshire Hathaways Class A shares more than doubled in the same span of almost ten years, swelling Buffetts stake to $48.7 billion.
Alwaleed, whos a nephew of Saudi King Abdullah, is plotting a rebound. The princes Riyadh-based Kingdom Holding, which invests most of his wealth, has been retreating from U.S. equities and pouring billions into luxury hotels and large-scale housing and commercial developments in Saudi Arabia and around the world.
Kingdom Holding, where Alwaleed serves as chairman, has boosted its property-related assets, such as Four Seasons Hotels Inc., to 75 percent of its holdings, according to his companys 2009 annual report. Publicly traded stock, which made up at least 79 percent of Alwaleeds assets in 2000, now constitutes only about 23 percent of his wealth.
371-Room Palace
Alwaleeds most ambitious undertaking is the 1-kilometer- tall (0.62-mile-tall) Kingdom Tower in Jeddah. When completed, the skyscraper will be the worlds tallest, surpassing the current record holder -- Dubais Burj Khalifa -- by 21 percent.
The prince says his shift in strategy at Kingdom Holding, which he controls with a 95 percent stake, may put him on a path to surpass the riches of the 79-year-old Buffett.
When he was my age, he was not as big as me, Alwaleed says. I still have 20 years.
Alwaleeds preoccupation with his status and wealth, which includes four jets, a 281-foot (86-meter) yacht and a 371-room palace, is also on display at Kingdom Holdings headquarters.
The glass tower that he built has an oval-shaped hole in the top that resembles the eye of a sewing needle. In his 66th- floor office, models of his airplanes decorate his desk. Bookshelves display reprints of magazine articles about his ranking on billionaire lists.
Bill Gates
The prince keeps meticulous track of the ups and downs of his fortune, Kingdom Holding Chief Financial Officer Shadi Sanbar says.
Alwaleed hires appraisers to value his private assets -- such as a jewelry collection worth more than $700 million -- and makes those figures available to publishers of rich lists, Sanbar says. After a ranking is published, the prince sometimes issues a press release touting his position.
He wants to be the best, the wealthiest; that by itself is what motivates him, says Saleh Al Fadl, who worked for Alwaleed from 1989 to 1993 at United Saudi Commercial Bank, one of the princes earliest investments, and now helps run retail banking at Riyadh-based Saudi Hollandi Bank.
In addition to chasing Buffett, Alwaleed has also been preoccupied with Bill Gates, the Microsoft Corp. founder who has often topped the billionaire rankings, Al Fadl says. He was always referring to Bill Gates, he says.
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Buffett and the Prince
After losing billions on U.S. stocks beginning in 2000, Alwaleed Bin Talal says he may become richer than the Oracle of Omaha. His strategy: holding an IPO for his luxury hotels and building the worlds tallest tower in his homeland.
By Vernon Silver
Bloomberg Markets, June 2010
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal sits under an almost full moon near a campfire at his rustic retreat in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Hes surrounded by a zoo with zebras and giraffes, an artificial lake and a lodge that has an indoor pool, saunas and steam rooms. Three hooded falcons are perched on stands in front of him.
Five young women, dressed in black miniskirts and jackets and orange knee-high boots that match their nail polish, serve clove-and-cardamom tea to Alwaleed and his entourage, which includes his personal physician.
On this evening in late March, the prince perks up in his easy chair as a newscast on a large-screen television behind the campfire reports on a rally in global hotel stocks -- a sign of hope for the billionaire investor whos trying to revive his slumping fortune, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its June issue.
Hotels are on the way up; theyre taking off, says Alwaleed, before he rises to lead about 15 courtiers and retainers down a hill for a feast of Saudi, Lebanese and Italian food.
Alwaleed, 55, one of the worlds richest men, saw his net worth climb to $21.1 billion in May 2000, according to his tally of investments and personal wealth. He achieved that mostly by investing in big-name companies such as Apple Inc. and News Corp.
Since then, many stocks have turned against him, especially those of Citigroup Inc. and Time Warner Inc. The Saudi royals fortune has been trimmed to $16.6 billion, based on the value of his Kingdom Holding Co. stake on March 31 and his personal assets as of Feb. 10.
Buffett of Arabia
Alwaleed often refers to himself as the Buffett of Arabia, although the comparison to Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., doesnt hold up. Berkshire Hathaways Class A shares more than doubled in the same span of almost ten years, swelling Buffetts stake to $48.7 billion.
Alwaleed, whos a nephew of Saudi King Abdullah, is plotting a rebound. The princes Riyadh-based Kingdom Holding, which invests most of his wealth, has been retreating from U.S. equities and pouring billions into luxury hotels and large-scale housing and commercial developments in Saudi Arabia and around the world.
Kingdom Holding, where Alwaleed serves as chairman, has boosted its property-related assets, such as Four Seasons Hotels Inc., to 75 percent of its holdings, according to his companys 2009 annual report. Publicly traded stock, which made up at least 79 percent of Alwaleeds assets in 2000, now constitutes only about 23 percent of his wealth.
371-Room Palace
Alwaleeds most ambitious undertaking is the 1-kilometer- tall (0.62-mile-tall) Kingdom Tower in Jeddah. When completed, the skyscraper will be the worlds tallest, surpassing the current record holder -- Dubais Burj Khalifa -- by 21 percent.
The prince says his shift in strategy at Kingdom Holding, which he controls with a 95 percent stake, may put him on a path to surpass the riches of the 79-year-old Buffett.
When he was my age, he was not as big as me, Alwaleed says. I still have 20 years.
Alwaleeds preoccupation with his status and wealth, which includes four jets, a 281-foot (86-meter) yacht and a 371-room palace, is also on display at Kingdom Holdings headquarters.
The glass tower that he built has an oval-shaped hole in the top that resembles the eye of a sewing needle. In his 66th- floor office, models of his airplanes decorate his desk. Bookshelves display reprints of magazine articles about his ranking on billionaire lists.
Bill Gates
The prince keeps meticulous track of the ups and downs of his fortune, Kingdom Holding Chief Financial Officer Shadi Sanbar says.
Alwaleed hires appraisers to value his private assets -- such as a jewelry collection worth more than $700 million -- and makes those figures available to publishers of rich lists, Sanbar says. After a ranking is published, the prince sometimes issues a press release touting his position.
He wants to be the best, the wealthiest; that by itself is what motivates him, says Saleh Al Fadl, who worked for Alwaleed from 1989 to 1993 at United Saudi Commercial Bank, one of the princes earliest investments, and now helps run retail banking at Riyadh-based Saudi Hollandi Bank.
In addition to chasing Buffett, Alwaleed has also been preoccupied with Bill Gates, the Microsoft Corp. founder who has often topped the billionaire rankings, Al Fadl says. He was always referring to Bill Gates, he says.
Click HERE to read the full version of this story
