With that $2.8 billion loss, Alwaleed is now worth $17.2 billion. The 62-year-old royal is the nephew of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the cousin of crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. He was one of more than a dozen royals, high ranking officials, and businessmen arrested in what is now being described as a purge to help solidify the crown prince’s power. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has often drawn comparisons to Warren Buffett. He shares Buffett’s knack for wise investment strategies. He is also known for being eccentric and favoring self-promotion. He attended California’s Menlo College and Syracuse University before founding Kingdom Holding in 1980. As far as Saudi royals go, Alwaleed is pretty progressive. Instead of the traditional ankle length thawb, Alwaleed often appears in public wearing fashionable suits and tinted sunglasses. It’s been said that he is an obsessive calorie counter who tries to stick to an 1,100 calorie per day diet. He has progressive views on women, music, and film and has called for the Arab world to get with the program and implement massive reform. Alwaleed has long been in favor of lifting the ban on women driving in the kingdom (which just happened, by the way). Alwaleed is also a member of The Giving Pledge.
