Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal announced Wednesday his plan to give away his entire fortune in the coming years.
“With this pledge, I am honoring my lifelong commitment to what matters most – helping to build a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable world for generations to come,” Alwaleed said in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Educated in California, Alwaleed is thought to be the 20th-richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg, with a fortune of $30.5 billion. He has pledged to give away even more than that, $32 billion, though no time frame was set.
Alwaleed, a member of the Saudi royal family, founded Kingdom Holding, a Riyadh-based investment holding company, in 1980. It became well known for investments in technology companies such as Twitter and Apple. He has also made personal investments in Islamic study centers around the world, including one at Georgetown University.
Alwaleed’s charity group, Alwaleed Philanthropies, has worked with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Carter Center, founded by Jimmy Carter.
“Philanthropy is a personal responsibility, which I embarked upon more than three decades ago and is an intrinsic part of my Islamic faith,” Alwaleed said, citing among his causes: health promotion, electricity to remote villages, building orphanages and schools, disaster relief and empowering women.
Some have suggested that his emphasis on charity and women’s rights is a tactic to endear his ventures to Westerners. However, few deny his generosity.
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