The 34th richest man on
the world, Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, is donating his entire
US$32 billion personal fortune to charity, reported the British Broadcasting
Corp. (BBC).
Alwaleed is chair of the investment
firm Kingdom Holding Company which owns stakes in hotels like The Four Seasons,
Fairmont and Raffles, and in diversified companies like News Corp., Citigroup,
Twitter and Apple.
But Alwaleed clarified that he would
only donate his personal money which “is very much separate from my ownership
in Kingdom Holding.”
Bereft of any official government
position, the prince, aged 60, said his move was inspired by the philanthropy
of Bill and Melinda Gates, who put up the Gates Foundation in 1997.
He said the money would be used to
"foster cultural understanding", "empower women", and
"provide vital disaster relief", among other things.
Gates hailed Alwaleed’s
announcement, saying it is an “inspiration to all of us working in
philanthropy.” Alwaleed Philanthropies has already donated $3.5 billion
to charity.
– End-
Image by: Alwaleed
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