Is Prince Alwaleed the World's Richest Douche?
Maybe. Maybe not. Depends upon whom you ask. Or if you ask him, it depends upon what he's overvaluing his net worth at that day. But one thing is for certain: he's suing Forbes for making him look like a piker with only $20 billion to his name. What a dick.
Just to be clear, this kind of thing is not unprecedented. Forbes has been dealing with the colossal egos of those featured on the Forbes 400 pretty much since the beginning of the list. Randall Lane, now the editor of Forbes magazine, used to do the grunt work involved with compiling the list when he was new to the business and he told me he got complaints all the time. But this goes beyond that. This isn't some rich guy bitching because you overestimated and put him on a higher level of the IRS's radar. This is basically a publicity whore whining because he's thinks he's worth more than Forbes does.
Of course, this could just be retaliation for Forbes pointing out that Alwaleed lives in FantasyLand back in March. But I'm guessing it had more to do with his #26 rank on this year's list. So I looked up the 25 people who ranked ahead of him to see if any of them were a bigger douche.
I'll be the first to admit I'm not a huge fan of the Koch brothers, but they're not particularly self-aggrandizing. Likewise, Liliane Bettencourt probably rented the French presidency for awhile, but she did her dead-level best to keep it under the radar. Mike Bloomberg is a tad self-important, and he doesn't want you drinking Big Gulps, but aside from that he's not on the same level as the prince. And I'm not sure anyone else on the Top 25 even comes close. (And if you point out Larry Ellison's occasionally douchetacular behavior, I'll remind you that he consistently backs up his bravado by bringing the noise down on those who oppose him - which definitely gives him notadouche cred in my book.)
So what do you guys think? Is this just another whiny billionaire fame whore? Or does the good prince have a legitimate ax to grind? You'd think a guy with an ego like his would appreciate being recognized for something, even if it is World's Richest Douchebag. Amiright?
I thought it was about value of his holding and less ego?
You really don't like the Koch brothers? Given your personal and political ideals this seems strange to me.
While I agree with their small (some would argue anti-) government stance, I find their allegiance to religious extremists a bit odious.
If someone published that my erect penis is 2 inches shorter than what I think it is, I'd be pissed too.
Yeah I was going to mention Ellison but you're right, he backs that shit up. This is at least the douchiest action by any of these guys - Buffett and Bloomberg annoy me but douche isn't the proper term.
As Billionaires in general go, I'm not a fan of Soros either but gotta respect him.
Go Blackhawks.
Soros gives him a serious run for his money in the douche department, but placed lower on the list than Alwaleed did. Can't imagine the prince is too upset about that.
I don't think you need to qualify this guy as "richest" douche in world. I would say just world's biggest douche.
If the prince had actually earned anything or done anything else other than inherit money and then hire people to come up with ideas, I could kind of understand. Thing is, he's not only useless and utterly replaceable, he's less rich and important than he imagines himself, so sad. When are the Saudi's going to wake up and realize they're lorded over by a worthless lot of kleptocrats who blind them with religious fundamentalism? LOL, I just realized the Saudi royals are everything the Koch brothers wish they were.
I am not going to get into details here, but a lot has to do with the valuation of Kingdom Holdings on the Saudi Stock Market.
Prince Alwaleed is nevertheless the richest man in the Arab world.
wow you just proved you are a douche. he never inherited any money, maybe you should read some history. His father was exiled when Al-Waleed was a teenager. His first investment was made after he mortgaged his own house. and he started off with $10,000. Ppl like to talk without doing their diligence, and btw in all of Saudi Arabia, Alwaleed is the only man who has pushed for women's right to drive, and for them to work alongside men. He is not a religious fundamental, perhaps if you do your research you will find out he is hated by the religious fundamentalists in his own country. Also, he is the largest foreign investor in the U.S, he has sizable stakes in the most well known business in the U.S. He basically is the Warren Buffet of the East.
this forum has so much crap being spread around that it is becoming a joke. I had to clear out this shit
btw..i went to school with his son, so i know more than you do. Also, please read up on anything you will be making a comment on. your post clearly shows you are stuck in box filled with your own stupid assumptions.
just took a look at wikipedia (for whatever thats worth) and saw that he graduated from grad school at syracuse in 1985. in late 1990 he took a $207 million position in Citi. in early 1991 he took a $590 million position in Citi convertible preferreds. either he had a really impressive 1985-1990 or that was one hell of a house he mortgaged.
Ellison is the fucking man.
According to this "his own house" was a gift and he receives a 15,000 month allowance. I guess technically thats not an inheritance.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/globalbusiness/9934790/Prince-Alwale…
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/06/10/prince-alwaleed-saudi-billionair…
Prince Alwaleed, it's a pleasure to have your on our forums.
LOL!!
I guess this is the BS propaganda they feed their people.
I met this old Jordanian guy. Very wealthy individual. How he got rich?
The Jordanian mafia (i.e. regime) gave monoply power to his business in the most populated area of the country.
If I had to guess, based on what little info on the guy's background I can find, I'd say he's pissed partly because a lower wealth ranking means he's not earning as much money for the people he represents as he says he does. Knowing someone close to him is a double edged sword: yes insight is gained on a different level, but proximity also blinds people to the true nature of what really goes on behind the scenes. To illusrtrate more clearly, watch "The Last King of Scotland". Maybe the guy somehow conjured half a billion dollars in five or six years, I don't know, but I do know that guys like Paul Castellano were always seen by the public as great guys until it becomes clear where the original source of their wealth was from. Just like billionaire Russian "businessmen", few people end up with any amount of wealth in MENA nations without some serious under the table dealings. If not, why does he not disclose his records, and why was he declined registration as an investor when that processes is generally a rubber stamp to begin with?
....and yah, I shot my mouth off without really knowing a lot about the guy, sooooo, uhhh, hooray for me, blah
Alwaleed looks like a villain from Miami Vice
Sounds like a shit stain.
LOL
Nasty.
You got it right on that count. ''Shady'' is definitely the flavor of the month when doing business in MENA. And it only gets worse as the deal gets larger/bigger. Sometimes you get to wonder, is there any hope?
Honestly, this is spot on.
I thought you would share some youtube videos of prince alwaleed, his palace, yacht, and investment portfolio, etc. Quite ridiculous.
hahaha that was perfect
Warren Buffett of the East? Giving that designation to anybody not named Li Ka-Shing is just wrong.
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