Free Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Essay Sample

Prince Alwaleed Bin TalalI. Personal Profile

Prince Alwaleed bin AbdulAziz al Saud, one of the world’s wealthiest man was born on March 7, 1955 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. His parents are Prince Talal Bin AbdulAziz Alsaud, son of the founder and first ruler of Saudi Arabia, King AbdulAziz Alsaud, and his mother is Princess Mona El-Solh, daughter of Riad El-Solh, the first Prime Minister of modern day Lebanon and a leader of Lebanese independence. He is a member of the Saudi Arabian Royal family, known for their global investments. He studied at Menlo College in California and in 1979 graduated magna cum laude with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. In 1985, he finished his Masters Degree with Honors at the Syracuse University in New York.
In 1976, Prince Alwaleed married Princess Dalal Al-Sa’ud, with whom he has two children, Prince Khaled and Princess Reem. This marriage however did not last long. In 2006, the Prince married Princess Ameerah AlTaweel but they are not blessed with children. Princess Ameerah is responsible for supervising the Alwaleed Foundations which supports several humanitarian causes not only in Saudi Arabia, but globally.
II. Professional Profile
Right after graduation from college, he returned to Saudi Arabia and used his inheritance of $15,000 to form his own company, the Kingdom Establishment for Commerce and Trade, which will later be known as Kingdom Holding Company. He also mortgaged his house for $400,000. These investments served as the foundation of his $23 billion empire. During that time, he focused mainly on the real estate and construction industry, after which, he moved into the banking industry. Eventually Prince Alwaleed entered into other business ventures in the areas of telecommunications, broadcasting & media, entertainment, hospitality, computers and electronics, agriculture, restaurants, upscale fashion, retailing, supermarkets, tourism, travel, and automotive manufacturing. His local investments include Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG), TASNEE (National Industrialization Company) and privately owned entities as National Air Services (NAS), Kingdom Hospital, Consulting Clinics, Kingdom City, Kingdom Centre and Kingdom Schools. In 1991, he was able to bailout Citicorp with his $590 million investment in the company, earning him the title, “Arabian Warren Buffet”. He is currently the largest individual investor in the Citigroup, owning 5% of the company. Other companies where he holds large stakes are Apple Inc., News Corp, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, George V Hotel in Paris, Fairmont Raffles International, Inc., Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, Songbird Estates (Canary Wharf), Time Warner, Walt Disney, Euro Disney, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Motorola, Hewlett Packard, Eastman Kodak and Twitter. In 2000, KHC was named as Saudi Arabia’s top company for the second consecutive year.
III. Traits/abilities, skills, and personality profile
The Alwaleed Foundations are proofs of the Prince’s strong belief in fulfilling his duty as a Muslim. He established three Foundations locally and internationally, namely, the Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation in Saudi Arabia, Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation- Global registered in Lebanon and Alwaleed Bin Talal Humanitarian Foundation in Lebanon. His Foundation’s slogan is “Commitment Without Boundaries”. He believes in promoting peace among nations, irrespective of religion, culture, race or creed. He wants to make a positive change in every individual in the world. He describes himself as “being religiously conservative, but with a liberal outlook on the social and cultural aspects of contemporary Islam”. He reads the Quran and meditates on its teachings and applies it in the modern world. In fact, one of his projects includes the translation of the Quran in 12 languages. He is aware that the Middle East should be open to political and social changes. Prince Alwaleed is also a strong believer in equality between men and women, hoping to change the role of women in the Arab nations. Aside from being a very successful businessman, Prince Alwaleed is also known for his philanthropic activities in the fields of health, education, food aid, and HIV/AIDS research. Specifically, he made a $10 million donation to the Twin Towers Fund and $20 million each to Georgetown and Harvard universities. Through his philanthropic works, he hopes to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor people of the world.
IV. Leadership in action
Prince Alwaleed is a true leader as exemplified by his numerous significant achievements both as a businessman and as a philanthropist. According to Forbes, Prince Alwaleed’s net worth as of 2015 is $22.9 billion. He was also named by the same magazine as the world’s most intelligent and creative investor. His investment philosophy can be described as one which has an eye for profitable investments, yet reluctant to let go of unprofitable ones. He is very sentimental when it comes to his investments.
Prince Alwaleed has received various medals, awards and recognitions. These include honorary citizenships in cities around the world, honorary doctorates in several educational institutions, various citations for his philanthropic works.and has always been included in the lists of the world’s most influential and powerful businessmen.
V. Lessons for the future leaders/managers
Some of the famous quotes of Prince Alwaleed which reflects his leadership style were presented in an article in Valuewalk.com. These are: “When there’s a panic, I’m always happy”; “I am not panicking, and I am not scared, I have been through the Gulf War, the Asia crisis, and the Russian crisis”; “My wheels are running. My investments are local, regional and international”; “Nowadays, anyone who cannot speak English and is incapable of using the Internet is regarded as backward”; “We are getting hurt, but I am a long-term investor.”. One finds these quotes as very revealing of how effective leaders should be. As implied in the Prince’s statements, a leader should not fear challenges or obstacles which he faces along the way, instead these should be viewed as opportunities to move forward and strive to achieve one’s goals. This trait of Prince Alwaleed should serve as an inspiration for all leaders. Another important lesson that can be learned from Prince Alwaleed is that leaders should always try to expand his horizons. He should not put limits to his businesses. In other words, dream big. If a company succeeds locally, then there is no reason to stop and remain in one’s country. A leader should explore endless possibilities for growth. The success of the business empire of Prince Alwaleed could not have been achieved if he stopped dreaming. If he was not forward-looking, his business conglomerate would not have reached international success. As evidenced by one of his quotes, Prince Alwaleed believes that there must be a continuous yearning to learn and educate oneself and to be always updated with the latest trends and developments around the world. This is essential for any leader or manager, lest he be left out by the new generation.
There are a plethora of lessons that leaders can learn from the success of Prince Alwaleed. But more importantly, a significant lesson learned here is that successful persons like Prince Alwaleed realize that he should also give back and share his achievements to those who are less fortunate.

References

Alawaleed.com.sa. (2015). Philanthropy. Retrieved from www.alwaleed.com.sa: http://www.alwaleed.com.sa/about/philanthropy/
Alwaleed.com.sa. (2015). Philosophy. Retrieved from alwaleed.com: http://www.alwaleed.com.sa/about/philosophy/
Alwaleed.com.sa. (2015). A lifetime of achievement. Retrieved from alwaleed.com.sa: http://www.alwaleed.com.sa/timeline/
BornRich.com. (2014). Al-Waleed bin Talal. Retrieved from BornRich.com: http://www.bornrich.com/al-waleed-bin-talal.html
Kingdom Holdings Company. (2015). HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. Retrieved from kingdom.com.sa: http://www.kingdom.com.sa/hrh-prince-alwaleed-bin-talal
Valuewalk.com. (2015). Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud resource page. Retrieved from Valuewalk.com: http://www.valuewalk.com/prince-alwaleed-bin-talal-alsaud-resource-page/