How does the saudi royal family make money

It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saudfounder of the Emirate of Diriyahknown as the First Saudi state —and his brothers, though the ruling faction of the family is primarily led by the descendants of Ibn Saudthe modern founder of Saudi Arabia. King Salmanwho reigns currently, chose first his nephew and then his son as the crown prince after he was approved by the Allegiance Council with 31 out of 34 votes. The House of Saud has had three phases: the Emirate of Diriyahthe First Saudi State —marked by the expansion of Wahhabism ; the Emirate of Nejdthe Second Saudi State —marked with continuous infighting; and the Third Saudi State —presentwhich evolved into Saudi Arabia in and now wields considerable influence in the Middle East. The succession to the Saudi Arabian throne was designed to pass from one son of the first king, Ibn Saud, to. The monarchy was hereditary by agnatic seniority untilwhen a royal decree provided that future Saudi kings are to be elected by a committee of Saudi princes. House of Saud is a translation of Al Saudan Arabic dynastic name formed by adding the word Al meaning «family of» or «House of» [11] to the personal name of an ancestor. Members of the cadet branches hold high and influential positions in government though they are not in the line of succession to the Saudi throne. Many cadet members intermarry within the Al Saud to reestablish their lineage and continue to wield influence in the government.

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Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah C, seated is greeted by a Saudi officer on his arrival at Riyadh airport in this February 23, file photo. But some of the biggest handouts over the past two decades have gone to his own extended family, according to unpublished American diplomatic cables dating back to The cables, obtained by WikiLeaks and reviewed by Reuters, provide remarkable insight into how much the vast royal welfare program has cost the country — not just financially but in terms of undermining social cohesion. Besides the huge monthly stipends that every Saudi royal receives, the cables detail various money-making schemes some royals have used to finance their lavish lifestyles over the years. As long ago as , U. In the assessment of the U. A cable showed that King Abdullah has made changes since taking the throne six years ago, but recent turmoil in the Middle East underlines the deep-seated resentment about economic disparities and corruption in the region. State department. In a meeting with the U. Then there was the apparently common practice for royals to borrow money from commercial banks and simply not repay their loans. The managing director of another bank in the kingdom told the ambassador that he divided royals into four tiers, according to the cable. The top tier was the most senior princes who, perhaps because they were so wealthy, never asked for loans.

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The second tier included senior princes who regularly asked for loans. The third tier included thousands of princes the bank refused to lend to. The confiscation of land extends to businesses as well, the cable notes. The U.

A Kingdom of Oil

King Saud was deposed in and replaced by his brother King Faisal, who, in turn, was assassinated by a nephew. Duane Chapman: It’s ‘a lot harder now without Beth’. Boy arrested after 4 people killed in Utah shooting. But the Tangier compound appears to be his current favorite getaway. Dania Sinno, a real estate agent with Belles Demeures de France, said that multiple family members had been buying property in Paris in the last year. Senior members of the House of Saud are keenly aware that they lost their previous kingdom in the 19th century because of family infighting. He put most of this money into businesses, including banks and cement factories in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. King Abdulaziz entered into numerous marriages — with 17 known wives, producing at least 36 sons — to cement alliances with the many Arabian tribes. Salman bin Abdulaziz was born in , just three years after his father proclaimed the new Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Some Saudi royals are still spending big. They don’t get any more of taxpayers money than a head of state from any other country. Freeman, the former ambassador. Indeed, criticizing the monarchy carries risks. I know that in return for this wage The Queen visits country’s, acknowledges peoples achievements e.

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What Is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s net worth?

Freeman Jr. Prince Charles in the process the Duchy of Cornwall is between the main important land proprietors interior the united kingdom, as an occasion. And they do work as the Queen has the role off head of state, as a president would have in a republic. You can sign in to vote the answer. The funding mechanisms are opaque by design. As a young prince, Salman recalled when the family still lived in tents part of the year, as he has recounted to Secretary of State John Kerry. The king surprised his court by giving his son broad power, naming him defense minister, head of the economic council and ultimately responsible for Aramco. Some Saudi royals are still spending big. The Saudi spokesman said they were not in jail or under house arrest. Senior members of the House of Saud are keenly aware that they lost their previous toyal in the hpw century because of family infighting. Some younger princes live in large, but not palatial, modernist homes outside Riyadh that would not be out of place in upscale California neighborhoods. The largest share, he added, how does the saudi royal family make money to tribal and provincial leaders, not royals.

Origin of the the family wealth

These are anxious times for the royals, led by an year-old who has already had at least one stroke and is likely to be the last of six sons of the founding monarch to serve as sovereign.

He must wrangle a band of relatives, from the merely well-off to billionaires, who are accustomed from birth to privilege and plenty. In his two-year reign, King Salman has upended the traditions of successioncreating rifts after bypassing several brothers to position the next generation — a nephew and a favorite son — in line for the throne. He has ousted prominent members of other branches of the family from governorships and top ministry jobs, consolidating power but sowing some discontent in a family that demands unity.

Many royals are wary of any disclosures about their wealth that could provoke public criticism. Revenues from the national oil company, Saudi Aramco, have long been the lifeblood of government spending. That concern has led some senior family members to quietly explore alternatives to the privatization plan, though Saudi officials said it remains on track.

Facing huge budget gaps, the government has cut public-sector pay along with subsidies, sending gasoline, electricity and even water bills higher. The kingdom has begun borrowing by the billions both at home and abroad. And hiring by the government — a large and sought after employer for Saudis — has been cut, instilling fear for the future in younger people who cannot find work.

Royals are sharing the pain, according to Anas al-Qusayer, the spokesman for the Ministry of Culture and Information, who said that their allowances had been reduced. At least some royals, though, have seen no decline in their stipends, according to several Saudis close to the family. Some Saudi royals are still spending big. Dania Sinno, a real estate agent with Belles Demeures de France, said that multiple family members had been buying property in Paris in the last year. King Salman already had significant holdings in France.

The king, of course, does not lack for options at home, with a network of marble-columned palaces and countryside retreats stretching from the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf. But the Tangier compound appears to be his current favorite getaway. During his visit this summer, some hundred black Mercedes sedans and Range Rovers were waiting to chauffeur the royal party around town.

The palace complex includes its own medical facilities and top-flight restaurant kitchens that turn out dishes with lobster, caviar and truffles flown in from France. Many staff members had to leave their phones at the gate so photos did not leak. But a Twitter gadfly working under the pseudonym Mujtahiddwho has successfully predicted some major royal news in the past, broadcast to his 1.

Some on the household staff, who did not want to be identified so they could continue working for the Saud family, said they received an unusual gratuity when they handed in their ID badges: a free trip for a pilgrimage to Mecca.

A Life magazine correspondent visiting in described how, as King Abdulaziz waited on a roadside while a flat tire was fixed on his Packard, he gave a shepherd passing on camelback several gold pieces. Salman bin Abdulaziz was born injust three years after his father proclaimed the new Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The power and legitimacy of the new state rested on the twin pillars of the royal family and their allies in the ultraconservative Wahhabi religious leadership. As a young prince, Salman recalled when the family still lived in tents part of the year, as he has recounted to Secretary of State John Kerry. King Abdulaziz entered into numerous marriages — with 17 known wives, producing at least 36 sons — to cement alliances with the many Arabian tribes.

Salman, believed to be the 25th son, had one advantage in this sprawling, competitive family, where royal succession does not always follow a straight line. His mother, Hassa al-Sudairi, was a favorite wife of the king, and Salman was one of seven full brothers, a powerful bloc known as the Sudairi Seven.

In contrast to the traditional robes and headdresses King Salman wears in public today, an early photo shows a dapper young man in a well-cut Western suit. In nearly half a century as governor of Riyadh, he presided over the explosion of a modest desert way station into a metropolis with millions of inhabitants, along with skyscrapers, multilane highways and palaces for the newly rich royals. The global shock of the oil embargo in sent prices soaring and petrodollars flooding into the country.

Despite imposing rigid adherence to a strict version of Islam on their subjects, some Saudi princes became fixtures at high-rolling pleasure capitals like Monte Carlo. The money is divided among many relatives and spread across several continents, making a precise accounting difficult. The funding mechanisms are opaque by design.

The share of the Saudi budget that ultimately makes its way into royal coffers is not disclosed. Even people who closely follow the Saudi royal family said they could not estimate its total assets. The family members have erected high walls around their palaces, bought overseas assets with shell companies, used intermediaries for large investments and demanded nondisclosure agreements from employees.

The records linked him to a yacht and multimillion-dollar properties in London — one a majestic home with a balustraded balcony near Hyde Park in the tony Mayfair district. Saudi Arabia is not nearly as affluent on a per-capita basis as Qatar or Kuwait, which are also rich from oil and gas but support far fewer people than their large neighbor.

Both also have been hit hard by the low oil prices. Despite a robust social safety net — including free education and health care — there are poor Saudis, and many in the middle class barely make ends meet. Princes and princesses can take advantage of privileges like special hospital wings decorated like palaces with five-star hotel service, and royal airport terminals with enormous chandeliers, intricate tilework and rich carpets.

But even among royals, there are big differences between direct heirs to the kings and cousins on the fringes. Some younger princes live in large, but not palatial, modernist homes outside Riyadh that would not be out of place in upscale California neighborhoods. They drive Range Rovers and boxy Mercedes S. And their ranks continue to swell.

The relatives number in the thousands, but from there, estimates diverge, said Joseph A. Princess Basmah bint Saud, a daughter of King Saud, five years ago put the number of royals at 15, But the Saudi ministry spokesman, Mr. Qusayer, said there were no more than 5, members of the House of Saud.

At some point, the family could grow too large to support. Members of the royal family rely on allowances, government jobs and positions in business, aided by the status and connections conferred by nobility. Exactly how benefits are parceled out beyond seniority and service is unknown, said Mr.

The Saudi spokesman, Mr. The largest share, he added, went to tribal and provincial leaders, not royals. The United States memo cited Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the billionaire investor, as having told the American ambassador that revenue from one million barrels of oil per day went into off-budget programs under the control of the king and several top princes. An adviser to several members of the family and a former senior American government official said that the off-budget programs still existed; it is unclear in what amounts.

Both spoke only on the condition of anonymity, for fear of alienating the Saudi government. The line between family and state assets can be blurry. United States officials have described in multiple memorandums significant land transfers to sons and grandsons of the king, and even outright grabs, such as one prince who simply had the fence line around his property slowly expand outward to encompass another 30 square miles.

Prince Bandar bin Sultan, a longtime ambassador to the United States, and Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd, a favored son of the late King Fahd, made hundreds of millions of dollars selling the land for a centrally planned megacity north of Jidda that is still under construction, according to an American diplomat in a memorandum.

Many royals have succeeded in business by acting as the exclusive agents for foreign companies in the kingdom. Others are involved in enterprises that depend on government spending doled out by relatives or that thrive on heavy state subsidies. As the size of the family and the general population have grown, some observers say, the balance of rewards has become harder to maintain.

Thousands of princes and princesses had free cellphones disconnected. Unlimited flights on the national airline, Saudia, were cut back so that large entourages no longer traveled gratis and blocks of tickets were no longer resold for profit. Suites at hotels in Jidda, paid year-round by the government, were relinquished.

King Abdullah also tried to reduce the practice of land-grabbing and the abuse of the visa system for guest workers. Some princes received block grants of visas and profited from selling them to the workers cooking, cleaning and building across the kingdom.

Among those who opposed King Abdullah in paring back privileges and entitlements, according to diplomatic cables, were Prince Salman and his brother Prince Nayef. Senior members of the House of Saud are keenly aware that they lost their previous kingdom in the 19th century because of family infighting. King Saud was deposed in and replaced by his brother King Faisal, who, in turn, was assassinated by a nephew. As governor of Riyadh, Salman helped oversee the family, even maintaining a jail for young princes who ran amok.

Freeman Jr. He was also chairman of a major media company, Saudi Research and Marketing Group, which is used to protect the image of the royal family.

Critical voices have been jailed or silenced. Oil prices had begun their precipitous decline, but it was not yet clear how far they would fall. The king surprised his court by giving his son broad power, naming him defense minister, head of the economic council and ultimately responsible for Aramco. He also removed several sons of former kings from important positions. Freeman, the former ambassador. Last year, an anonymous letter by a nephew of the monarch was published online, calling on his uncles to remove their brother, King Salman.

Qusayer, the Saudi spokesman, said that information was wrong. Indeed, criticizing the monarchy carries risks. Three princes who were living abroad and had spoken out against Saudi policy have disappeared from view since King Salman came to power. They are believed to be back in Saudi Arabia, where they cannot voice their disagreements. The Saudi spokesman said they were not in jail or under house arrest.

In October, the government announced that a low-ranking prince had been executed for murder. That was interpreted by some as a sign to commoners that no one was above the law; others described it as a signal to royals that they would not be protected from the consequences of their actions.

While members of the family have been investing overseas for decades, the pace of buying homes abroad has quickened in the last two years, according to Ardavan Amir-Aslani, a business lawyer who has advised Saudi princes on real estate acquisitions in France.

After Ramadan ended in July, many royals traveled to the Mediterranean. Prince Abdulaziz, the son of the late King Fahd, rode a Jet Ski this past summer off the Spanish island of Formentera within sight of his nearly foot yacht. Prince Khalid, the exiled prince in Germany, said it would be difficult for the deputy crown prince, who has led the austerity drive, to squeeze his most important constituency if he wishes to reach the throne.

Predictions that divisions within the House of Saud could jeopardize its grip on power have come and gone for decades. Despite his advancing age, King Salman emerged this month for a tour of the Persian Gulf states, a reminder of who is in charge. Dipping Into the Till Members of the royal family rely on allowances, government jobs and positions in business, aided by the status and connections conferred by nobility.

Boasting fortunes running into the tens, hundreds and even thousands of billions, the richest royal families in the world make the likes of Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos look decidedly hard up. Click ahead as we reveal the omney houses with the highest net worths, counting down from the 10th wealthiest to the most moneyed ruling family on the planet. The sheikh also owns luxury properties in Europe, as well as one of odes world’s nake yachts.

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