Prince Alwaleed: The Arab World's Richest Billionaire Exploring Tech Investments and Digital Assets

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Al Saud has reclaimed his position on Forbes' billionaire list in 2025 with a net worth of 16.5 billion USD, establishing himself as the wealthiest Arab globally. His investment approach—characterized by strategic diversification across multiple industries—has positioned him as one of the most intriguing figures in global finance, particularly as his portfolio increasingly intersects with digital innovation sectors.

The Return of Saudi Arabia's Investment Powerhouse

Born in 1955 to royal lineage—grandson of both Saudi Arabia's founding king Abdulaziz Al Saud and Lebanon's first Prime Minister—Prince Alwaleed's financial journey has seen significant milestones. Previously featured on Forbes' billionaire list in 2017 with a net worth of 18.7 billion USD, he disappeared from the rankings when Forbes temporarily ceased tracking Saudi billionaires in 2018.

His 2025 return marks a notable achievement—ranking 128th globally and standing as the only figure from the 2017 Saudi billionaire cohort to reappear on the list. Among the 15 Saudi billionaires featured this year, he holds the premier position.

The foundation of his wealth stems primarily from his 78.13% ownership stake in Kingdom Holding Company—an investment group he established four decades ago. These holdings are valued at approximately 6.4 billion USD, anchoring a diverse portfolio that spans multiple sectors and geographic regions.

Kingdom Holding has developed into one of Saudi Arabia's premier investment entities, managing assets valued at 19 billion USD as of late 2024. The company maintains a strategic allocation framework focused on three core sectors: stocks and financial investments, hospitality, and real estate. This diversified approach extends across 18 distinct industries ranging from financial services and entertainment to emerging fields like artificial intelligence and healthcare.

Beyond his Kingdom Holding interests, the Prince's asset portfolio includes substantial domestic real estate holdings, the Rotana media group, and a 1.5% stake in Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat.

A significant transaction occurred in 2022 when Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) acquired 16.9% of Kingdom Holding from the Prince for 1.6 billion USD—a move that reflects the evolving investment landscape in the region.

Strategic Investments Across Technology and Digital Ecosystems

In the technology sector, Kingdom Holding has established a substantial presence as the second-largest shareholder in the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and Elon Musk's artificial intelligence venture, xAI. The investment portfolio extends to other digital giants including Meta, Uber, Didi, and Lyft—positioning the company at the intersection of traditional finance and digital innovation.

The Prince significantly expanded his technology investments in 2024, increasing his stake in xAI to 800 million USD through participation in Series B and C funding rounds. His early backing of Musk's Twitter acquisition in 2022 established a pattern of confidence in digital platform investments, which continued with substantial commitments when Musk announced the X-xAI merger in March 2025—a transaction that valued the combined entity at 125 billion USD.

Looking forward, Alwaleed projects his investment in this consolidated digital venture could reach between 4 to 5 billion USD—signaling his growing interest in the convergence of social media, artificial intelligence, and digital communications infrastructure.

This strategic positioning in cutting-edge technology companies raises intriguing questions about how traditional investment figures like Alwaleed might approach emerging digital asset classes. Given his demonstrated comfort with technology investments and his forward-looking portfolio approach, industry observers have noted that established digital currencies and blockchain infrastructure projects could represent logical extensions of his current investment thesis.

Diversified Portfolio Across Traditional and Emerging Markets

The hospitality sector constitutes nearly 31% of Kingdom Holding's investment portfolio, anchored by a 23.7% stake in Four Seasons—a long-standing joint venture with Bill Gates' investment fund. This position was previously larger at 47.5% before the Prince sold half his stake to Gates for 2.21 billion USD in 2021.

Kingdom Holding also maintains a 6.8% ownership position in French hospitality giant Accor, which manages over 40 premium brands including Fairmont, Raffles, and Sofitel.

In financial services—a sector with increasing digital transformation relevance—Alwaleed's historic 1991 Citigroup investment of 800 million USD reached a peak value of 10 billion USD in 2005. Currently, Kingdom Holding retains a 1.06% stake in Citigroup and serves as the largest shareholder of Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) with 16.2% ownership, valued at approximately 1.8 billion USD.

Real estate comprises 25.9% of the investment portfolio, featuring landmark projects like the Kingdom Centre in Riyadh and the ambitious Jeddah Tower—designed to exceed 1,000 meters upon completion and claim the title of world's tallest building. The associated contracts represent 1.9 billion USD in commitments, complemented by a 35.74% stake in Jeddah Economic Company.

The aviation sector highlights Kingdom Holding's diversification strategy, with the company holding a 37.2% stake in low-cost carrier Flynas, which operates a fleet of 61 aircraft. According to recent announcements on X, Flynas is preparing for an IPO on the Saudi exchange (Tadawul) this year with targeted proceeds of at least 2 billion USD.

In healthcare, which accounts for approximately 2.2% of the portfolio, Kingdom Holding owns 4.9% of Dallah Health while operating Kingdom Hospital and its associated consulting clinics.

The education sector has also attracted investment attention, with the group holding 89.8% of Kingdom School System shares. This position recorded a 14% increase in student enrollment last year—indicating strong growth potential in this long-term investment sector.

Through this sophisticated multi-sector approach, Prince Alwaleed has created an investment architecture that balances traditional asset classes with emerging opportunities—a strategy that may increasingly extend to digital assets and financial innovation as these sectors continue their global expansion.