Prince Khalid ibn al-Walid al-Saud is the representative of royal blood and the heir to a multi-billion dollar fortune. But he is not known for the extravagant waste of "father's" money on luxury goods. This rich man launched a large-scale war against animal husbandry in Saudi Arabia, where such programs are completely alien.
Prince Khalid is a multi-billionaire living like a hipster
The Russian-language Internet provides very little information about Prince Khalid. Even Wikipedia does not say a word about him in Russian. And meanwhile, this is an extremely interesting, extraordinary person, who will be talked about for a long time and a lot.
A little background
The birth of al-Walid was not atypical of the name of the state audit. He was born in 1978 in the state of California. His father, al-Walid ibn Talal ibn Abdel Aziz al-Saud, the grandson of the first king of Saudi Arabia, once came to the United States to attend college. A year later, he married his cousin, and soon the very first-born was born to them.
With a bachelor’s diploma and an al-Walid ibn Talalpriy family, he came to Arabia, where he later had a daughter, and then a divorce. So, Khalida was raised by a single father. This is not to say that his fate was complicated. After all, the boy grew up in a huge palace among marble and gold. There were five kitchens in the palace, each for dishes of a certain continent. The owner’s vehicle fleet for the son’s adolescence already contained about 300 elite models.
By that time, the father of our hero was already a very large investor. By the way, the king’s grandson got his first investment capital by laying down his parents ’wedding gifts - a house and a precious necklace.
Today, Khalid's father is the largest investor in the Arab world, the owner of the 45th line of Forbes and a fortune of about $ 18 billion.
Prince Khalid's Lifestyle
Probably, a difficult guy began to acquire Western views even during his studies at the University of New Haven. In 2013 a talented guy opened his own company - KBW Investments. In addition to industrial investments, the company is actively investing in high technology and advanced environmental developments. Khalid fundamentally does not invest in oil.
Having access to all the blessings of the world, this now 40-year-old man lives almost ascetically. At home, the prince wears traditional clothes, moves on his only electric car - Tesla. But in the United States, paparazzi often find him in a real hipster look.
Here, the blood prince puts on a hoodie and a cap, shoes Converse sneakers (with an insert made of leatherette, of course), and uses the Uber tax system for movement.
True, al-Walid lodges on trips in luxury Four Seasons hotels. But this is more likely to save money - the royal family owns the network. Khalid showed a rebellious disposition in marriage. In 2005, contrary to tradition, he married a girl of non-royal blood - the daughter of the Minister of Finance. By the way, our character is an active fighter for women's rights in her homeland.
Most of the wealthy heir is concerned about environmental problems, in particular, the issue of the extinction of animals due to excessive consumption of meat. Starting with himself and becoming a true vegan, the prince decided to devote his life to saving animals from human cruelty.
How did it all start?
Once the son of a billionaire watched two documentaries: one about the terrible impact of the meat industry on the environment, the second about useful and unhealthy diets. The films left a lasting impression.
The next impetus was the sudden vegetarianism of his father, al-Walid ibn Talal. That young man was overweight and the ensuing problems. Once, having at the disposal of the best cooks, the nephew of the current King Salman decided to become a vegetarian. Khalid, who was genetically predisposed to be overweight, “outdid” dad and became a vegan. This meant giving up not only meat, but also any products of animal origin.
Khalid was able to reduce weight from 105 to 82 kg, stabilize health.
Soon he managed to convince the head of the family to "move to a new level." But that was only the beginning.
The "open and sweet prince," as he is usually characterized, swore that no animal would be harmed for his food, clothing, or lifestyle. But most importantly, he decided to inspire Saudi Arabia to build a future with a clean environment and a humane attitude to the animal world. Halidibn al-Walid intends to eliminate livestock enterprises from the future, literally: "send them to the dustbin of history."
How does an extravagant rich man fight meat-eaters?
Of course, the selfless vegan chose online propaganda as the first step. The slogan on his page in Fb "Defend your beliefs, even if you do it alone" is no longer relevant. The prince has a mass of followers in the Persian Gulf. From his accounts, Khalid encourages people to switch to plant foods and boycott fast foods, portending an environmental disaster.
And now about serious measures. The opening of the first vegan restaurant CafePlant in Bahrain was a significant event for ibn al-Walid. This gourmet vegetarian restaurant is part of Kenny's famous North American chain. First, Khalid wanted to offer the great chef Matthew Kenny a franchise, then simply invested in his network. And here is the result. The restaurant stands near the country's most prestigious school, and the number of visitors is growing rapidly. For a couple of years, a fighter with meat-eaters plans to open 9 more establishments of this format.
Two documentaries are paid from the Ibn al-Waleed foundation: “We'll eat like that - we’ll die out” and a film about the life of vegan athlete James Wilks. With this method, the prince wants to convince as many people as possible to change their views. Khalid also delivered a speech at the New York ReducetarianFoundation Summit. This fund was created to reduce global meat consumption.
A year ago, an environmental activist invested $ 17 million in MemphisMeats. The scope of her activity is the development of technology for the production of "pure meat". The founders plan to remove meat from animal cells artificially. HamptonCreek (a supplier of plant-based products) does the same research, and a wealthy vegan rushed to join the board of directors of the company. A member of the royal family is sure that thanks to investments in the modernization of agriculture, he will achieve a reduction in meat consumption in 10 years.
One popular vegan restaurant in Dubai has a board where guests are invited to continue with the phrase, "Before I die, I want ...". When Khalid ibn al-Walid al-Saud was there, he signed: "... end livestock farms."
But what if he partially succeeds? Indeed, in the "arsenal" of the strange prince is incredible determination, a competent program, and huge funds.
