Customer Reviews

Alwaleed: Businessman, Billionaire, Prince

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this book because I wanted to gain some more insight into one of the world's richest men, his investments, his strategies and his life. As written by Riz Khan I expected to receive a balanced view of his story.

However, I was gravely disappointed. First it is the worst written book I have ever read in my life. Apart from Khan's writing style which resembles that of a 16-year old submitting an essay he wrote the night before the deadline and apart from being dull, weak in vocabulary and downright boring, it is also full of grammatical mistakes.

The story itself is incredibly one-sided with absolutely no opposing perspectives to those of Waleed. It presents an unacceptably incorrect view of liberal Islam and presents what is essentially an egotistical, arrogant man's view of how incredible his achievements are. The idea of a billionaire who claims he is religious and prays to God 5 times a day contrasts starkly with how he put Koranic verses in the lobby of his Georges V hotel in Paris. The very lobby under which rich Parisians sip martinis and discuss Arab terrorists and immigrants in France.

The first chapter - indeed the rest of book seems incidental - is dedicated to providing a response to Rudolph's Guliani's rejection of Walid's $10m donation for 9/11. The rest of it is repetitious, self-congratulatory and eeks of both Walid's personal editing and Riz Khan's incompetence as a writer.

Anyway, point being, dont buy it.. read something useful (and spell-checked) instead.

Yes, it comes with a 1 hour documentary DVD on the Prince. This is probably the first ever biography where they enclosed a DVD. I have never met the Prince nor seen him on TV, but the DVD gave me a good impression of him.

This book is an authorized biography of Prince Alwaleed. In America, he is not as famous as Warren Buffet, but he is quite well known in the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia. Since this is an authorized version, the author, Riz Khan, is very careful not to say anything that is too negative or controversial about Alwaleed. We won't fault him for that since he wants to please the Prince.

What I enjoyed about this book is the numerous interviews made by Alwaleed. You get a good sense of how this man thinks and learn his philosophy about life and business. I also like reading about how the Prince lives and makes his business and investment decisions.

He is driven, precise, highly ambitious, demanding, fast-paced and extremely detailed-oriented man with a photographic memory. He will stop at nothing to reach his goals. How else can you account for his rise from a mere royal Prince starting with $30,000 in seed capital to being worth over $24 billion dollars in less than 25 years. He is respected by CEOs and heads of state from around the globe.

Alwaleed got his start in Saudi real estate and earning commissions from foreign contractors during Saudi Arabia's building boom in the 1980s. He then got into the banking business by buying and merging together Saudi banks. Alwaleed tells the story of how he saved Citibank from near collapse in the early 1990s by putting up a good chunk of his net worth (close to $600 million) during the bank's crisis.

He is extremely punctual and has such a demanding travel schedule that his entourage can't keep up. He gets by with very little sleep (4 to 6 hours). Where ever he goes, he must have access to a telephone and a television. His phone bill is close to $100,000 a month. He is in the process of building the largest personal yacht in the world. He has a private 747 jumbo jet. I believe he is likely to order a double-deck Airbus A380 too.

If you want a fascinating insider account of Prince Alwaleed, this is probably as good as it gets.

This is the "authorized" biography and the only biography on Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud. When I picked up this book I hoped to learn more about the background of the Prince as well as his professional and personal accomplishments and what issues motivate him. Unfortunately, this book was very poorly written. Mr. Khan is no doubt an accomplished professional, but his writing lacks depth and substance. The book reads like a long drawn out magazine article and definitely strokes the ego of the Prince. On the other hand, I don't blame Khan for this type of writing. There would undoubtedly be professional and possibly personal repercussions if he was critical of the Royal Prince.

The book does explain how the Prince made his initial millions. The Saudi Kingdom requires that non-Saudi's wishing to establish businesses in the Kingdom, have a "Saudi partner". Therefore, royals are highly desirable due to their political access. Most royals simply take a one-time kick back for their counseling services. However, the Prince has wisely made every effort to establish partnerships and joint ventures with his international investors. Therefore, his kickbacks tend to be much larger in size and come in the form of steady streams of payments. Despite utilizing his "wasta", he should be given great credit for being able to legitimately grow his fortune. Furthermore, readers will learn of his great respect and passion for the Muslim faith despite the admitted failure of his last two marriages. Overall, this is a must read for anyone who wishes to learn more about the Princes boats, houses or planes. If that is not the case, I would recommend you pass on this one.

Book came across as an extremely bias piece. When it came to sources it seemed that Khan used the same people repeatedly. It was so bad I was only able to read the first two chapters. I'm sure that Khan put a LOT of hard work into this book but the end product was not very good. However, the idea of adding a video to the book was a huge plus and I hope other biographers follow his lead on this point. That idea alone gave this book two stars!

Not like most biographys. Not indepth enough. Does not really explain how the deals really happened. Would like for someone else to give a go at another one.

Through the DVD and the book Riz Khan allows you to gain a comprehensive picture on how one of the world's most successful investors thinks. Its not so much that the Prince is meticulous or that he constantly at work, or even that he is extraordinarily carefree about his charity. Its a combination of these things and more that makes this particular Saudi Prince an icon in the Middle East and a person that draws awe and envy across the West. The Prince is a very unique person cleverly gifted in the areas the world knows him for, but burdened with naivete in other areas such as politics and his perception of how the public views him or wants to see him. The book and DVD are interesting in that they allow or give the impression that we having a candid glimpse at the Prince. A person so clear and careful in his day to day life would certainly be very deliberate as to how the Book & DVD portray him. So its what the Prince really wants us to see. Or is it?

I am from the middle east (Dubai) and i hear the name Al Waleed bin Talal on a daily basis..

Anyways about the book, it is a pretty good read. The way he conducts business is amazing. No one is arguing that he is a good business man. A man who knows what to go in and what to avoid.

However, i do not think that he should be considered one of the most successfull people around the world. You can NEVER convince me that he never used his royal connection to start his empire (or even to do business inside KSA and outside).

The first quarter of the book is all about trying to convince people that he started a normal start like any normal business man. THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE. a royal can never be considered a billionare.

He is a good business man no one is objecting but can you compare him with the likes of Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Richard Branson who all started very simple and with almost no money ??

Those people took a risk that could make them what they are now or break them forever.

A man like Al Waleed if he takes a risk and it dose not work out, well he can always use his royal name to start over, and over, and over, and over. He has the support of the richest family (country) in the world. His father gave him a big sum of money, an office and staff to start with. CitiBank gave him a loan of 1 Million riyal because of his royal name. He got contracts from outside organizations because these organizations can use his royal name to their advantage.

YOU CAN NEVER DENY THAT IT WAS HIS ROYAL NAME THAT BUILT HIS EMPIRE AND NOT HIS SKILLS.

i agree with the previous commentator that this book is shallow and waste of tree (and time). what can we get out of a news anchor, formerly of cnn? not much!

to answer the question from craig, there is indeed a dvd attached inside the back cover.

His Royal Highness Prince Al-Waleed is one of today's most extraordinary, important and fascinating muslims.

This authorized biography largely projects him as he wishes to be seen. Many may argue that this may be very different from how he sees himself, which may in turn be very different from how he is in reality. Critics may allege that the account is sugarcoated at best, or a 100% manufactured confection at worst.

I believe, like the Prince, one must always be precise. Being precise means to abandon extrajudicial opinions and thinking i.e. unsubstantiated opinions based on heresay, speculation, suspicion, innuendo, logical fallacies and ill-intent. This kind of sloppy thinking is unfortunately more widespread in the urbane "educated" population (likely to be reading this review) than in the razor-witted yet simple bedouins that accompany His Royal Highness.

A principle of Islamic Law states that the burden of proof lies upon the accuser(s). Another Islamic principle is: "Be hard on yourself and easy on others".

Obviously HRH is not perfect. But How many muslims can boast not having missed a single prayer in 25 years? How many are as disciplined? How many are as punctual? and How many would retain these and other qualities after having a net worth over $20 billion?

Ofcourse, being a connected Royal must have helped, but out of the over 5000+ Princes how many are as successful? or half, or a third as successful? Clearly, he did it on his own merit.

Fate deals us a hand in everything, whether it be genetics or circumstances, it is up to us to best play that hand. It is all about tapping into potential and maximizing the "IRR".

I certainly believe the account narrated by Riz Khan puts HRH squarely in the same league as Gates, Buffet etc. To suggest otherwise is sloppy thinking. In fact, in some ways he supersedes them.

To me this book indicates, in general, the future of Islam and Muslims since I view the Prince as a symbol of religious belief, tradition, progress, hardwork, fairness and youth.

He is just as similiar to the common muslim, as he is dissimiliar.

Reading this book was a humbling, inspirational and revelatory experience. (I am not getting paid to write this!)

I give the book 4 stars because I feel from a technical perspective the book could have been better written. It is sometimes redundant.

Not that I care much for either Alwaleed or Riz Khan, but I suspect one of the reviewers get a kick out of puting people down. The whole attitude stinks of arrogance and public schoolboy humour.

I'm guessing he had a rich daddy, was looked after by nannies and was regularly sodomised by his English teacher.