Prince Alwaleed bin Talal gives 2 million Saudi riyals to soccer clubs

RIYADH: Newly free Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal on Tuesday provided 2 million Saudi riyals ($533,333) to support Saudi soccer clubs, reported Reuters.

Prince Talal posting a photo of himself on Tuesday watching a soccer game between Al-Hilal and Al-Ain with his family tweeted: “Answering my brother Turki al-Sheikh’s invitation to support Saudi clubs … I present 2 million Saudi riyals ($533,333) to support Al Hilal FC.”

The prominent Saudi billionaire was released after nearly three months from detention in the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton hotel following his arrest in an anti-corruption drive on the orders of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Prince Al-Waleed, dubbed the Warren Buffett of Saudi Arabia, freed two weeks ago was the most high-profile detainee among 350 suspects rounded up since November 4, including business tycoons and ministers, who were held in Riyadh’s luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel.

The prolonged detention of Prince Al-Waleed, ranked among the richest men in the world, had sent shock waves across a host of companies that count him as a major investor.

Kingdom Holding — in which the prince has a 95 percent stake — owns The Savoy in London, the Fairmont Plaza and the famed George V hotel in Paris.

The prince, who Forbes estimates is worth $18.7 billion, has also invested in Lyft and Twitter.