Saudi princes affiliated to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) own more billions of dollars of UK property via offshore jurisdictions, such as Jersey and the British Virgin Islands, the Guardian can reveal.
One of those royal billionaires is Turki bin Salman Al Saud, the ninth son of the king and brother to the country’s de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman. Turki Al Saud owns a BVI-based company called Moncrieff Holdings, which owns 18 properties in London, including flats in the Pinto Tower in Nine Elms.
The Saudi royal family also holds a vast array of property via offshore entities, including the Holme, a lakeside manor in the middle of London’s Regent’s Park, built in 1818.
In addition to two stately homes in London connected to King Salman, his son, Prince Turki bin Salman, is listed as the guarantor of an Isle of Man company that sold a penthouse apartment a short walk from Westminster Abbey for over $35 million in 2014.
Prince Sultan bin Salman, a half brother of the crown prince and the first Arab in outer space, purchased a luxury Boeing jet that typically costs more than $100 million through an offshore shell company.
Some estimates of the Saudi royal family’s wealth measure their net worth at $1.4 trillion, which is 16 times more than that of the British royal family, estimated at $88 billion.
The family in total is estimated to comprise some 15,000 members; however, the majority of power, influence and wealth is possessed by a group of about 2,000 of them. Some estimates of the royal family’s wealth measure their net worth at $1.4 trillion. This figure includes the market capitalization of Saudi Aramco, the state oil and gas company, and its vast assets in fossil fuel reserves.
Media reports earlier revealed the “untold truth of the Saudi royal family,” who is known for leading quite the lavish lifestyle while ruling over one of the wealthiest countries in the world.
With no shortage of wealth, it comes as no surprise that the Saudi royal family is known for living lavishly. Still, some of their pricer purchases have left some stunned. For example, in 2017, the Wall Street Journal revealed that the aforementioned Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (also known by his initials MBS) purchased Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi” for $450.3 million.
Similarly, the New York Post reported that MBS owns an ultra-fancy 440-foot yacht that cost him a startling $494 million. The craft allegedly has two pools and a helipad, and was said to be an impulse purchase.
‘I’m not Gandhi or Mandela’
Speaking to CBC News, MBS earlier said that his personal life is something he likes to keep to himself.
As far as my private expenses, I’m a rich person and not a poor person. I’m not Gandhi or Mandela. I’m a member of the ruling family that existed for hundreds of years before the founding of Saudi Arabia, he told the paper.
MBS’ $1 trillion wealth
When the Chateau Louis XIV sold by MBS for over $300 million two years ago, Fortune magazine called it “the world’s most expensive home.”
The 2015 purchase appears to be one of several extravagant acquisitions — including a $500 million yacht and a $450 million Leonardo da Vinci painting — by a prince who is leading a sweeping crackdown on corruption and self-enrichment by the Saudi elite and preaching fiscal austerity at home.
