Saudi’s philanthropist prince has few supporters after corruption crackdown
New York — For more than a quarter of a century, Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has been making investments and building relationships in the West. He bailed out Citigroup, helped refinance the ill-fated Euro Disney, and backed Rupert Murdoch during the UK phone-hacking scandal. Now, as Alwaleed passes a fourth week at a Riyadh hotel, one of hundreds of detainees in an anti-corruption crackdown, almost no one has rallied to his cause. Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist, said in a statement Monday that Alwaleed has been an "important partner" in their charitable work together. Earlier this month, Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat called him a "consistent, loyal supporter". They don’t have much company. For Alwaleed, the relative silence is a skimpy return on the billions he’s invested over the years in everything from Twitter to Europe’s biggest hotel operator, Accor. Yet his situation reflects a harsh reality: as much as his friends and business associates ...
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