Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, born in 1955 and usually known as Prince Alwaleed, is a member of the Saudi royal family who has amassed an independent fortune through investments in shares and property.

Born in Riyadh, Prince Alwaleed studied in the USA at Menlo College and Syracuse University. He is married with two children. He is the nephew of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia but has stayed outside of the core of political power in Saudi Arabia, instead building a large international financial business. He is calculated to be one of the world's richest billionaires, worth $21.5 billion (according to Forbes magazine) independently of any claim on the Saud family wealth. His investments are organized through his Kingdom Holding Company.

Investment activities

Prince Alwaleed's activities as an investor came to prominence when he bought a large tranche of shares in Citicorp in the 1990s when that firm was in difficulties. He has also made large investments in AOL, Apple Computer, Motorola, News Corporation Ltd and other technology and media companies.

His real estate holdings have included large stakes in the Four Seasons hotel chain and the Plaza Hotel in New York; he sold most of his share in the latter in August 2004.

In January 2005 he purchased the Savoy Hotel in London for an estimated GBP 250 million, and it will now be managed by Fairmont Hotels.

Charitable activities

Prince Alwaleed is heavily involved in charitable activites across the Arab world, and is estimated to donate more than $50 million annually to good causes. Much of this expenditure is in the field of educational initiatives to promote western understanding of Arab culture.

In 2001 he offered New York City a donation of $10 million towards relief efforts after the September 11, 2001 attacks. This was rejected by Mayor Rudy Giuliani due to certain conditions of the contribution.

In 2002 Prince Alwaleed donated $500,000 to the George Herbert Walker Bush Scholarship Fund, established by the Philips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts to honour former President George H. W. Bush.

Political involvement

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is not part of the ruling executive within the House of Saud, and has generally kept out of politics, concentrating on his business interests. However, he has recently started to make overt political statements in his press releases and interviews. His views can be seen as critical of Saudi traditionalism, proposing reforms to elections, women's rights and the economy. He has also openly criticized operation of the state-owned oil company, Saudi Aramco.

He has also taken a notable pro-American stance, backed up by his $10 million financing of American study programmes at the American University in Cairo.