"Little Saddam" who rules the world: new details have been revealed about the crown prince of Saudi Arabia

The global energy crisis and Russia's use of gas as a weapon in response to Western sanctions have returned to the international arena Mohammed bin Salman, who in 2018 was considered a target in the West after the brutal murder of the journalist Khashoggi. A profile reporter in the Economist discovers new details about the de facto king of the major oil exporter

Tali Goldstein

31/07/2022

Sunday, July 31, 2022, 6:13 p.m. Updated: 6:29 p.m.

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During the visit of the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to France last Thursday, the de facto leader of the desert kingdom stayed in the castle defined as "the most expensive house in the world", which he purchased in 2015.

"Château Louis XIV" in Louvain outside Paris is a new mansion built as a replica of the nearby Palace of Versailles.

The 7,000 square meter property was purchased by an anonymous buyer in 2015 for 275 million euros ($300 million at the time), which led Fortune magazine to call it "the most expensive house in the world." In 2017, it was reported in New York Times" because Ben Salman, 36 years old, is the one who purchased the mansion through several straw companies.

The global energy crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine and Russia's use of gas as a weapon in response to Western sanctions have brought the prince back to the international arena, who since 2018 has been considered an outcast in the West due to suspicions regarding his involvement in the brutal murder of American Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Western countries - such as France and Greece, and above all, the United States - are after the oil-rich kingdom in order to pump more barrels, which will lead to a drop in oil prices worldwide and reduce dependence on Russian black gold.

It is a historical coincidence that the mansion that bin Salman bought was built by the Saudi journalist's cousin, Imad Khashoggi, who runs a luxury real estate company in France. The mansion was built in 2009 on top of the ruins of a 19th century castle and includes a nightclub, a fountain Decorated with gold leaf, a movie theater as well as an underground water chamber with white leather couches. Another thing the estate has: an impressive wine cellar, although drinking alcohol is forbidden according to Islam and in Saudi Arabia.

Bin Salman with Turkish President Erdogan (Photo: Reuters)

Bin Salman, whose fortune is currently estimated at 1-5 billion dollars, was born in 1985 in Riyadh.

According to a new profile article published three days ago in the weekly economy and current affairs "Economist", he was not a particularly popular child.

The children did not want to play football with him and his classmates preferred the company of his cousins, whose place in the order of inheritance was higher.

According to a childhood friend, Salman was a lonely boy nicknamed "Little Saddam".

Salman's father already had five children from his first wife, an educated woman from the kingdom's urban elite.

In contrast, Salman's mother - the king's third wife - was a member of the Bedouin tribe.

Salman's older brothers mocked him for being "the son of a Bedouin".

Later, his older brother Am and his cousins ​​were sent to prestigious universities in the United States and Great Britain.

Salman Al-Badoui was sent to study in Riyadh at King Saud University, where he studied law and graduated with a bachelor's degree.

As teenagers, the royals used to hang out on their superyachts together.

According to reports, bin Salman was treated like a servant and was sent many times to the beach to buy cigarettes.

Bin Salman with King Abdullah of Jordan (Photo: Reuters)

But now it is clear to everyone who the real king is.

In 2009, bin Salman became an official adviser to the governor of Riyadh, who was his father at the time.

In 2015, Abin was crowned king and bin Salman became the crown prince.

Today, the 86-year-old King Salman still serves as the head of state, but is hardly seen in public.

For several years now the de facto ruler has been his son, bin Salman.

"King Salman is no longer the king," a Saudi intelligence source told The Economist.

In Saudi Arabia, where 70% of the population is under the age of 30, a millennial autocrat now rules.

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In video: The Saudi crown prince met with the Egyptian president in Cairo (Photo: Reuters)

The young ruler is crazy about the computer game "Call of Duty" and as in the game, so is he in life: breaking the boundaries and norms.

He is impatient and not a fan of norms, which helped him to pass far-reaching reforms in the conservative country, the biggest of which is the presence of women in the public space without the accompaniment of a man.

Bin Salman also expanded leisure activities in the religious country and began to implement ambitious real estate projects. Now you can not only pray, but also see music concerts or watch sports events, parties are held in hotels. Saudis and foreigners dance on beaches, couples kiss, a woman wears a bikini and juice with alcohol served at the bar.

Bin Salman with French President Emmanuel Macron (Photo: AP)

As the crown prince, bin Salman introduced a law according to which the sentence would be determined according to the guidelines of the state and not of the Koran;

made stoning to death and forced marriage a crime;

He jailed several religious leaders, and his new TV channel discusses the LGBT community. In 2017, he lifted the ban on Tinder. "He's a rock star," said an American tourist who came to Saudi Arabia to watch the Formula 1 race held in Jeddah last year. Foreigners, Riyadh has become much less threatening today. According to foreign businessmen, it has alcohol, cocaine and prostitutes."

According to a former senior Saudi official, the sex industry workers, most of them from Eastern Europe, earn $3,000 for attending a party and ten thousand dollars for a whole night.

Biden lands in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and meets with Crown Prince Bin Salman (Reuters)

According to interviewees in the article, the prince himself turned from a conservative guy, like his father, into a young man who often uses drugs.

One of the sources close to the royal house even said that in 2015 the prince's friends held a party in the Maldives and invited 150 models who had previously been tested for sexually transmitted diseases.

In addition, several international artists were flown to the site, such as the Dutch DJ Afrojack.

Bin Salman himself prefers, according to them, to relax on the shores of the Red Sea.

On weekends, his entourage forms a fleet of yachts around his yacht Serene.

According to a former senior official, "DJ MBS", as his friends call him, spins records in his favorite morning hat.

King Salman - 86 years old (Photo: Reuters)

On the other hand, the prince's ambition is tireless.

As a child he loved to read about Alexander the Great.

At the same time, the country is ruled with an iron fist and the citizens are terrified of the possibility that someone will hear them criticizing the royal house.

Surveillance of citizens is a traditional characteristic of tyrants throughout history.

According to the article, the hope is that the more his position is established, the more confident Bin Salman will feel and abandon the sense of insult and revenge he must have felt following the treatment he has received over the past four years.

But according to classmates and others, bin Salman shares traits with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, a reformer who became irresponsible and dangerous as his power grew.

Biden with Arab leaders in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Photo: Reuters)

The fact that the West and Turkey are now courting Bin Salman because of the oil he possesses, as well as the fact that the President of the United States Joe Biden had to "swallow the hat" and recently visit Saudi Arabia due to the rising price of fuel at gas stations from New York to Los Angeles, may strengthen the Bin Salman on the one hand, but also to increase the feeling of paranoia, on the other hand.

Biden's visit was announced by commentators at home and abroad as an unequivocal victory for bin Salman, which made the president of the United States look weak.

For the prince, this is a moment of historic victory.

His journey from inferior cousin and boy without friends and status to the ruler of the largest oil exporter in the world is almost complete.

At any moment he may become the official king of the kingdom, which he will surely rule for decades in light of his young age.

In light of the power that oil has given to Saudi Arabia over the years, some also fear that the prince will become even more dangerous once the oil reserves begin to dwindle and the black gold runs out.

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