Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), has been included in US News & World Report magazine’s “25 People Who Will Affect Your Finances in 2009.” Despite the economic slumps the world economy is going through, Prince Alwaleed has maintained the relative stability of KHC’s portfolio. Economic experts say the reason for this is that the prince’s investments are diversified and his successful strategy in long-term investment has also paid off handsomely, which has earned him a global name in the world of business.
Prince Alwaleed is known for his precision for exploring new and potential business opportunities and ventures in synchronization with the direction and fluctuations of the economic climate that has earned him a global name in the world of business. KHC was listed on the Saudi Tadawul stock exchange in 2007. KHC is pursuing the development of its two real estate projects in Jeddah and Riyadh, with the inauguration of the two colossal projects of Kingdom City and Kingdom Tower, both located in Jeddah, at the “Towards the First World” architectural exhibition that was held in Jeddah under the auspices of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in October 2008.
Furthermore, Prince Alwaleed’s unique progressive thinking and active social network with global leaders, decision makers and business people has firmly placed him and Kingdom Holding on the world business map. Moreover, he is active in social responsibility projects through significant local and international philanthropic donations made by the Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation. Work by the foundation spans all the continents, including Africa and Asia. The prince has been acknowledged for his active philanthropy. He was awarded in 2007 the Special Award for Philanthropy by Arabian Business magazine.
Prince Alwaleed is also an advocate for the promotion of East-West cultural and religious dialogue for tolerance and understanding in line with the initiative of King Abdullah. In recognition of this, Time magazine listed Prince Alwaleed in the “Time 100” issue among the 12 global “Power Givers” for raising the profile of Islamic history and culture around the world in 2007.
Prince Alwaleed’s recognitions span over a decade; the most recent include being named the top single investor in Saudi Arabia according to Al-Jazeerah newspaper. The percentage of Prince Alwaleed’s share in Kingdom Holding Company is 95 percent, which is the largest by an individual investor. Also, he was ranked one of the top 25 billionaires in the 2009 Forbes billionaires list. He is the largest private investor on the Saudi Stock Exchange.
Arabian Business magazine has ranked him No. 1 in its list of “100 Most Powerful Arabs” for the fourth year running. Also in 2008, Institutional Investor magazine listed Prince Alwaleed on its first-ever ranking of the most-powerful figures in finance. European Business magazine selected him as the No. 1 richest Arab in the World. Zahrat Al-Khaleej magazine chose him to be the “Entertainment Personality of the Year” according to its annual poll.
The Times newspaper ranked Prince Alwaleed No. 5 on the “25 Shaping Tomorrow’s World of Middle East Business” list. Forbes magazine ranked him No. 1 on the Middle East’s “20 Richest People” list. Institutional Investor magazine listed him on its 40th anniversary issue on the list of the “World’s Most Powerful & Influential” people in the last 40 years. Arabian Business magazine chose him on the “Top of the 50 Richest Arabs” list, Almaal wal Aalam magazine’s poll voted Prince Alwaleed the “Economic Personality of the Year” in the Arab world. And in 2005, Prince Alwaleed was on Fortune Magazine’s 2005 list of Asia’s 25 most powerful.
