Abdul Aziz bin Fahd

Abdul Aziz bin Fahd
Prince of Saudi Arabia
Born 1973 (age 42–43)
Spouse Al Anoud bint Faisal bin Mishaal Al Saud
Full name
Abdul Aziz bin Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
House House of Saud
Father King Fahd
Mother Al Jawhara Al Ibrahim
Religion Islam

Abdul Aziz bin Fahd (عبدالعزيز بن فهد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود) (born 1973) is a Saudi prince and member for the royal House of Saud. He was reportedly the favorite son of the late King Fahd of Saudi Arabia for a time, but is now known mostly for his extravagance and playboy image.[1]

Early life and education

Abdul Aziz born on April 16, 1973. His mother is Al Jawhara bint Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, belonging to the wealthy Al Ibrahim family.[2]

Abdul Aziz bin Fahd received a bachelor of arts degree in administrative sciences from King Saud University.[3]

Professional experience

Prince Abdul Aziz was first appointed as minister of state without portfolio in May 1998.[4] Then, he was made head of the Office of the Council of Ministers in January 2000, when he was just 28 years old.[5] It was reported that after King Fahd's death, he began to live in Switzerland and came to Saudi Arabia to participate in the meetings of the Council of Ministers.[6]

On 26 June 2011, he was relieved from his position as head of the court of Cabinet affairs by a royal decree.[7] It was declared that he resigned from his posts of minister of State and member of the Council of Ministers at his own request in June 2011.[8] However, he is still named as minister of the state and a cabinet member.[9]

Business activities

The ties between Saudi Oger and Prince Abdul Aziz are well known in Saudi Arabia. The company was founded by Rafik Hariri, who built Saudi Oger into a large company with the assistance of King Fahd. Hariri said ‘The meat on my shoulder is from King Fahd,’ according to As'ad Abu Khalil, a professor of political science at California State University Stanislaus, who has written several books and runs the blog The Angry Arab News Service. Hariri, also a former prime minister of Lebanon, was assassinated in 2005. His son, Saad Hariri, took over Saudi Oger and became Lebanon’s prime minister for 14 months before he was ousted in 2011. Saad Hariri and Prince Abdul Aziz are known to be close.[10]

Abdul Aziz bin Fahd owns the fifty percent of the MBC, of which the remaining fifty percent is owned by his maternal uncle Waleed bin Ibrahim al Ibrahim. It is reported that Prince Abdul Aziz deals with both the profits and the ideology of MBC Channels, including al Arabiya.[11]

It emerged in a New York Supreme Court affidavit that he is the secret owner of a $1 billion property portfolio in the US [12] which owns the American headquarters of the oil giant BP and the defence contractor BAe Systems (the UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper claimed in January 2011 that the portfolio is in fact £4 billion in value).[13] The affidavit, which was subsequently partially sealed by the judge but had already become available on internet blogs [14][15] stated that the properties were being managed by a group which included Sheikh Majid Al Ibrahim, Prince’s maternal uncle, and that total control of the portfolio was ultimately seized by Interventure Capital Group and Interventure Advisers, both of Manhattan, New York. According to a press release issued by Hyatt Hotels Corporation,[16] Interventure Capital Group is run by Jaber Al Ibrahim and is an adviser to Naseel Holding Company, the Al Ibrahim family investment vehicle chaired by Sheikh Majid Al Ibrahim.[17]

According to an unchallenged report in the UK's Daily Telegraph in October 2010, Interventure Capital Group is also behind another major portfolio of properties which had been controlled by a UK-based company, StratREAL.[18] Assets purchased by StratREAL on behalf of Prince Abdul Aziz bin Fahd included Fifth Street Towers, a Minneapolis office complex, for $294 million in 2007.[19] In May 2012, following a foreclosure on the complex for mortgage default, Fifth Street Towers was sold at a sheriff's auction for $1 over the outstanding debt of $110 million.[20]

A mansion at 5 Palace Green, on London's Kensington Palace Gardens (nicknamed "Billionaires' Row"), was reported to be being offered for sale by Abdul Aziz in July 2013 for £100 million.[21]

Alliances

Abdul Aziz bin Fahd was previously one of King Abdullah's closest aides. However, later, he seemed to have had a falling out with the monarch and to have been close to his uncle, the late Crown Prince Nayef.[22]

Fortune

Abdul Aziz receives exactly half of all profits of the successful Middle East Broadcasting Corporation (MBC).[11] He has a number of palaces in Saudi Arabia and around various other parts of the world which have cost over $2 billion[23] which include:

In addition, he reportedly owns "the Pyramid House" on Hillcrest Road in Beverly Hills, California.[26][27] He also has several super yachts including Prince AbdulAziz, which is one of the largest built in the 20th century.[28]

The Prince Abdulaziz super yacht

Personal life

Abdul Aziz bin Fahd married to Al Anoud bint Faisal Al Saud in December 2010.[29] His wife is a granddaughter of late Sultan bin Abdulaziz and of Mishaal bin Abdulaziz.[30]

He deals with camel racing in Saudi Arabia. His camels won the race organized in the Janadriyah festival in 2011.[31]

The Prince is well known as a great globetrotter in pursuit of pleasure, for such endeavour he has equipped himself with a Boeing 777, a Boeing 737 Business Jet and a Canadair Challenger which are all well-staffed with young Western female flight attendants. The fleet of private jets are furnished with plenty of bedrooms, showers and even a fully equipped hospital to make sure the Prince reaches his frequent destinations such New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami and, less often, Saudi Arabia.[32]

Ancestry

References

  1. ↑ Hakemy, Sulaiman. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" (PDF). LSE Student Union United Nations Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 December 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  2. ↑ "HH Princess Al-Jawhara bint Ibrahim". King Abdulaziz University. 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  3. ↑ "Index". Web page dedicated to Abdul Aziz bin Fahd. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  4. ↑ "The Council of Ministers". Saudia Online. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  5. ↑ Sakr, Naomi (2001). "Whys and Wherefores of Satellite Channel Ownership". Satellite Realms: Transnational Television, Globalization and the Middle East. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  6. ↑ "Prens Abdülaziz bin Fahd'ın çöküşü (The Fall of Abdulaziz bin Fahd)". Diplomatik Gözlem (Turkish, Diplomatic Observation). 14 August 2006. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  7. ↑ P.K. Abdul Ghafour (26 June 2011):"Cabinet court merged with royal court". Arab News.
  8. ↑ "Fahd bin Abdul Aziz’s exemption from the Presidency of the Prime Ministry Cabinet Office". Islam Times. 14 June 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  9. ↑ "Crown Prince arrives in Riyadh". Ministry of Interior. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  10. ↑ Buettner, Russ (19 February 2012). "At a Rape Trial, Two Views of a Prince’s Wealth". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  11. 1 2 "Ideological and Ownership Trends in the Saudi Media". Cablegate. 11 May 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  12. ↑ Stephen Foley (6 June 2012). "Revealed: Saudi royals' secret $1bn US empire". The Independent. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  13. ↑ "Former Credit Suisse executive Pierre Rolin 'owes £43m'". Telegraph. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  14. ↑ "Secret $1B Saudi Property Empire". Scribd. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  15. ↑ "Docs Reveal Secret $1B Saudi Property Empire"Seth Hettena". Seth Hettena. 10 June 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  16. ↑ "Hyatt Hotels Corporation". Investors. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  17. ↑ "Chairman Message". Naseel. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  18. ↑ "Tory donor Pierre Rolin accused of stealing £30m from Gulf investor". Telegraph. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  19. ↑ "StratREAL" (PDF). Srtrategic Real Estate Advisors. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  20. ↑ Webber, Maura (8 May 2012). "Venture Pays $1 Over Debt To Win Minneapolis Tower". The Washington Post. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  21. ↑ Billionaire Saudi’s £100m London home up for sale, The Times, 29 July 2013
  22. ↑ Kapoor, Talal. "Nayif's Return – A Lame Duck Crown Prince?". Datarabia. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  23. ↑ The Saudi Trap Archived 28 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  24. ↑ "Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Fahd Al Saud Mansion". Virtual Globetrotting. 2 August 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  25. ↑ "Prince Abdul Aziz bin Fahd palace". Virtual Globetrotting. 3 November 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  26. ↑ Cavatore, Alison (1 February 2013). "Saudi Prince Reportedly Overhauling Beverly Hills Pyramid House". Houte Living. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  27. ↑ "Abdul Aziz bin Fahd pyramid house". Virtual Globetrotting. 2 August 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  28. ↑ Mega Yacht: Prince Abdul Aziz Yacht Sea 2008
  29. ↑ "The Crown Prince of Dubai to attend the wedding of Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd Al Saud". Fazza. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  30. ↑ "الأمير عبد العزيز بن فهد يحتفل بزواجه من كريمة الأمير فيصل بن مشعل". Al Riyadh. 23 December 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  31. ↑ "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques launches Janadriyah festival in the presence of Bahrain’s monarch". Ain Al Yaqeen. 15 April 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  32. ↑ Shauna DeFord (26 November 2012). "Graham woman travels the world with a prince". The Times News. Retrieved 9 September 2013.

External links

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