Saudi prince to give $32 billion to ‘charity’

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal says he plans to give away his entire fortune of $32 billion to charity in the coming years.

Alwaleed is a member of the Saudi royal family and nephew to late King Abdullah. He has built his wealth through seed money from his father and investments in Western companies. He is ranked 34 on the Forbes list of the world's richest people.

His Kingdom Holding, a Riyadh-based investment holding company, owns stakes in hotels like The Four Seasons, Fairmont and Raffles, as well as companies such as News Corp., Disney, 21st Century Fox, Citigroup, GM, Twitter and Apple.

In a statement in Riyadh, Alwaleed said he was “helping to build a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable world for generations to come”.

He said he wanted to promote health, eradicate disease, bring electricity to remote villages, build orphanages and schools, as well as empower women.

Alwaleed is considered Westernized and a champion of women's rights. In the past, he has been accused of using his emphasis on charity and women's rights as a tactic designed to endear his business ventures to Westerners. 

Earlier this year, Alwaleed tweeted that he would buy 100 Bentleys for 100 pilots who took part in the Saudi bombing campaign in neighboring Yemen that has killed many civilians and destroyed the impoverished nation’s infrastructure.

His stake is worth billions of dollars in Citigroup which is accused of manipulating foreign exchange market along with Barclays, RBS, JPMorgan and Bank of America.

He also owns a 371-room, 42,700-square-meter palace in Riyadh, a Boeing 747-400 and an A380, and an 85-meter super yacht.

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