Muhammad bin Salman al-Saud (YouTube photo / here news)
Saudi princes have sold more than $ 600 million worth of real estate, yachts and works of art in the United States and Europe since the regent, Moamed Ben Salman, tightened his grip on the wealthy royal family’s wallet, according to the Wall Street Journal.
These days, some members of the royal family are selling assets in foreign countries to generate cash after Regent Muhammad bin Salman, 36 and the country’s ruling ruler, dried up much of the funding sources previously used to fund their extreme spending habits, say people familiar with the princes selling their assets. .
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“These people are not working, they have huge teams” and knowing the same person who knows the deals, they are also afraid of the prince. As a result, they want “cash in their back pockets but not to have conspicuous capital.”
The new sale deals represent the dramatic change in the fate of mature princes who converted profits from oil in the 1970s and 1980s into investments in some of the most exclusive markets in the world. The huge sums of money have been largely spent on assets that are not easy to sell, or on current expenses that some members of the royal family have even reached $ 30 million a month to fund dozens of workers and a lavish lifestyle, and because they rely on the government to fund this lifestyle, any policy change can shock Their world.
Senior members of the royal family amassed billions of dollars each year through real estate and oil sales as well as deals with the government, and Prince Muhammad gradually cut back on those contracts. And included paid vacations in foreign countries or the payment of water and electricity bills at their palaces in Saudi Arabia.Such indulgences accumulated to annual costs to the Saudi government of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The princes need cash to pay current bills such as maintenance of real estate, paying taxes, salaries to workers and parking fees on planes and boats, the people said. According to them, in some cases, they are also motivated to own less luxurious properties to avoid attracting the attention of Prince Muhammad, who has restricted their privileges and al-Saud family members’ access to state funds since coming to power in 2015. The Saudi government is aware of the sale of the princes’ assets.
Among the recently sold properties are a rural estate in the United Kingdom worth $ 155 million, two yachts more than 60 meters long, and jewelery from the ancient Mongol Empire given as wedding gifts by King Manoah.
In the past, Ben Salman said of Israel: “Israel is not an enemy, but a possible ally.” The Saudi Crown Prince said in an interview with Atlantic magazine that his country and Israel have many common interests, but first it must solve its problems with the Palestinians. ”
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