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http://www.naija.io 20th May 2014
Al Waleed Bin Talal: Prince that Bridge the Gaps
Al-Waleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud, born 7 March 1955, is a Saudi businessman , investor a and a member of the Saudi royal family. Waleed is a nephew of Saudi King Abdullah , and a grandson of Ibn Saud, the first Saudi king. Al-Waleed, a business per excellence with investments in companies within various sectors such as banking and financial services, hotels and management companies, and real estate is one of the richest men in the world, according to Arabian Business; his wealth is estimated at $31.2 billion, while it also ranked him as the most influential Arab in the world. Al-Waleed, was born into affluent families, his father was Prince Talal, was Saudi Arabia’s finance minister in the early 1960s while his mother, Mona Al Solh, was a daughter of Riad Al Solh, Lebanon's first Prime Minister. With this impressive background, the Prince would later attend military school in Riyadh, where he learnt a strict discipline to which he continues to adhere. This can be seen in the way he handle his business and his private life. Al-Waleed received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Menlo College in California in 1979. He then received a Master's degree in social science with honors from Syracuse university in 1985. Am not going to go into his business profiles in this blog; however what really makes me like this guy is the way he carry himself among his staff or his subjects; he created opportunities for Saudi and non-Saudi ladies in term of job. Al-Waleed's charitable activities are in the field of educational initiatives to bridge gaps between Western and Islamic communities, he also like to donate to the less privileged in the society. Al-Waleed donated £18.5 million to the families’ Palestinians telethon ‘to help relatives of Palestinian martyrs. The Saudi government maintained the term "martyrs" referred to "Palestinians [who are] victimized by Israeli terror and violence." In 2002, he donated $500,000 to help fund the George Herbert Walker Bush Scholarship at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Also in 2004, he contributed $17 million to victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Al-Waleed gave £16 million to Edinburgh University ,on 8 May 2008, to fund the "centre for the study of Islam in the contemporary world." Al-Waleed , love to enjoy himself, you cannot take that away from him; he owns several aircrafts, yachts, and arrays of sophisticated cars. Al-Waheed is a recipient of many honours and awards among them are ‘First order of the,'Order of Abdulaziz Al saudi’ from Saudi Arabia in 2002.Commander,National Order of Cedar from Lebanon, ‘The Order of Izzudin’ bestowed upon HRH by the President of the Maldives, on 2nd December 2009 .He also received the Star of Palestine, the highest honour conferred by the State of Palestine. Al-Waheed married to ''Asmaa bint Eidan bin Nayef Al Taweel Al Osaimi Al Otaibi, Princess Dalal bint Saud bin Abdul Aziz, Ameera Al-Taweel, Maha Al Saeed Al-Tamimi, and Princess Iman Bint Nasser Al-Sudairy, Khlood Al-Sarhani' |