PARIS, 1 March 2006 — Prince Alwaleed ibn Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company, has been bestowed the medal of “Legion of Honor,” with the rank of Commander by the French President Jacques Chirac in an official ceremony held at the Élysée Palace in Paris on Monday.
The medal is the country’s highest civilian honor in recognition of the prince’s role in strengthening Saudi-French cultural, business and economic relations.
“It is an honor to receive this prestigious medal,” said Alwaleed in a statement. “France has always been a country close to my heart.”
The official ceremony began as President Chirac cordially welcomed the prince to the Élysée Palace.
Diplomats, officials and other dignitaries attended the ceremony to commemorate and honor Alwaleed during this historic occasion. Alwaleed has a strong presence in France in the light of his historic, major contribution to the Musée du Louvre and investments such as the George V Hotel and Euro Disney.
Alwaleed made a substantial contribution of $20 million to fund the creation of a special exhibition space for the new department of Islamic arts at the Musée du Louvre in Paris last summer. This gift, which was unprecedented in the long history of the Musée du Louvre, allowed the museum to find a permanent home for its historic collection of 10,000 masterpieces of Islamic art.
The George V Hotel in Paris was purchased for $185 million and renovated for $120 million. After restoring its elegance and prestige, the hotel reopened in December 1999. The George V has been ranked number one of world hotels for five successive years. Alwaleed debuted his Disneyland-Paris investment in 1994 with $345 million.
Disneyland-Paris is considered the most significant tourist project in Europe, attracting more than 12 million visitors annually and (directly or indirectly) creating jobs in France.
