Saudi Prince to Donate His Entire $32 Billion Fortune to Charity

Saudi Prince to Donate His Entire $32 Billion Fortune to Charity
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Riley Schatzle
July 1, 2015
Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal will be donating his $32 billion fortune to charity over the coming years, he announced in a post to his website and at a press conference today.
The prince, who has been dubbed by many as “the Arabian Warren Buffett,” has already donated $3.5 billion so far through his Alwaleed Philanthropies organization. In his announcement, Prince Talal said:
“Early in my life I had a dream that I have always hoped to realize. […] I wished to wake up one day to see a world of tolerance, acceptance, equality and opportunity – for all.”
At the press conference today in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, Talal said that his donation of his $32 billion wealth is an “illustration of God Almighty’s blessings.” He added that he saw philanthropy as a personal responsibility and an “an intrinsic part of my Islamic faith.”
Prince Talal, 60, plans to donate his fortune over the course of the next several years. The donation will not include his investments in the Kingdom Holding Company, which has shares in London’s Savoy Hotel, Apple, Citigroup and News Corp.
His donations will be overseen by a board of trustees, which he will head, to ensure that the donations arrive as expected.
Talal said that he wants his donation to help “foster cultural understanding, develop communities, empower women, enable youth, provide vital disaster relief and create a more tolerant and accepting world.”
Even though Talal is the grandson of Saudi Arabia’s founder, Ibn Saud, the prince is said to have created his life’s empire off a $30,000 gift from his father along with a $300,000 loan.
He has since become one of the world’s richest men, owning the world’s largest private jet and more than 200 exotic cars, including Ferraris and Lamborghinis. He shares a 420-room mansion in Riyadh with his wife, Princess Amira Al-Taweel, and his two children.
While Talal is beyond well-off, he said he understands the need for economic stability in the rest of the world. He said at the press conference,
“I have had the opportunity to witness, first hand, the challenging conditions of many communities across the globe and have stood among those who were suffering and in great need.”
Alwaleed Philanthropies has been developing sustained projects in more than 92 countries for over three decades and will continue its work with Prince Talal’s $32 billion contribution.
Image via CNN
 
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