Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), attended Bloomberg’s “The Year Ahead 2014” Business Summit in Chicago, Illinois, recently. A KHC delegation also attended the US event.

Prince Alwaleed took part in an invigorating session titled “A conversation with HRH Prince Alwaleed” hosted by Erik Schatzker, Bloomberg Television.

The session topics revolved around the global economy, KHC, and Prince Alwaleed’s local, regional and international investments, as well as his views on business strategies and leadership. Prince Alwaleed also responded to political, economic and financial questions.

The two-day summit at the Art Institute of Chicago brought together more than 250 CEOs, senior executives, public sector officials and thought leaders.

The prince has significant investments in the US financial sector via Citigroup, in the media and entertainment sector through 21st Fox Century and in the hotel sector through the Fairmont New York Plaza one of New York’s most distinctive landmarks, Four Seasons hotel via the management of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in which KHC hold a 47.5 percent interest, and in the social media and technology sector via Twitter.

The New York Plaza that is owned 50 percent by the prince through KHC underwent a $400 million renovation and reopened a few years ago. The hotel is managed by Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI) in which KHC holds a substantial interest.

Furthermore, Alwaleed bin Talal Foundation funded University Centers in the US for bridging the gap between East and West.

These include a $20 million donation to Harvard University to create the University-wide Islamic Studies Program and $20 million donation to Georgetown University to create the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding both supported in 2005.

In addition in 2004, Alwaleed Foundation also made a $5 million donation to establish the Center for American Studies and Research (CASAR) at the American University in Beirut (AUB) and donated $10 million to finance both the construction of the Humanities and Social Sciences (HUSS) building in the new campus of the American University in Cairo.