Saudi Prince, Alwaleed Pledges $32bn To Charity

U.S. President Barack Obama (L) welcomes Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef as he plays host to leaders and delegations from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries at the White House in Washington May 13, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Saudi Arabia’s billionaire Prince, Alwaleed bin Talal has pledged his entire $32bn fortune to charitable projects over the coming years. The prince said in a statement that the “philanthropic pledge will help build bridges to foster cultural understanding, develop communities, empower women, enable youth, provide vital disaster relief and create a more tolerant and accepting world.” Aljazeera has more:

The donation “will be allocated according to a well-devised plan throughout the coming years”, he said, but stressed there was no time limit for the donation to be spent. Alwaleed said he would head a board of trustees tasked with spending the funds, adding the pledge would still be used after his death “for humanitarian projects and initiatives”.

At a press conference, he said his pledge was modelled on The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the US. In addition to media investments, Kingdom Holding has interests ranging from the Euro Disney theme park to Four Seasons hotels and Citigroup.

He is constructing a tower in the Red Sea city of Jeddah which is to rise more than one kilometre to be the world’s tallest building. Earlier this year, Alwaleed opened a pan-Arab news channel in Bahrain but authorities there shut the station after less than 24 hours on air and a new home is being sought.