I discovered an interesting detail about the Forbes 2025 list of billionaires. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Al Saud has returned after years of absence, and the story behind this comeback is anything but trivial.

Born in 1955, this member of the Saudi royal family has accumulated a fortune of $16.5 billion, making him the richest man in Saudi Arabia. He was already on the list in 2017 with $18.7 billion, but disappeared in 2018 when Forbes stopped counting Saudi billionaires. Now he is the only one among the Saudi wealthy from 2017 to make a major comeback.

What fascinates me is not just the figure, but especially how this prince manages his money. His investment strategy is remarkably diversified. The core of his empire is Kingdom Holding Company, founded 45 years ago, in which he owns 78.13% of the shares. This holding alone is worth $6.4 billion and manages a portfolio of $19 billion.

In the tech sector, Kingdom Holding is the second-largest shareholder of X – formerly Twitter – and Elon Musk’s xAI company. Last year, they increased their investment in xAI to $800 million through Series B and C rounds. The Saudi prince believed in Musk’s vision as early as 2022 with the Twitter acquisition, and continued to bet heavily when Musk announced the merger of X and xAI in March. The valuation of the new entity? $125 billion. Alwaleed expects that his investment in this joint venture could reach between $4 and $5 billion in the coming years.

But it’s not just tech. In the hospitality sector – nearly 31% of the portfolio – the prince owns 23.7% of Four Seasons through a long-standing partnership with Bill Gates. He also owns 6.8% of Accor, the French giant with brands like Fairmont and Raffles. In 2005, his historic investment in Citigroup reached $10 billion, starting from $800 million in 1991.

Real estate accounts for 25.9% of his investments: the Kingdom Centre in Riyadh and Jeddah Tower – designed to surpass 1,000 meters in height, becoming the tallest tower in the world. Contracts worth $1.9 billion are in place just for these projects.

In the aviation sector, he owns 37.2% of Flynas, a Saudi low-cost airline with 61 aircraft. According to his posts on X, Flynas will go public on Tadawul this year, aiming to raise at least $2 billion.

What strikes about this Saudi prince is his true ability to diversify. It’s not just accumulated wealth, but an investment strategy across 18 smaller sectors – from financial services to artificial intelligence, from education to healthcare. In the education sector, he controls 89.8% of the Kingdom School System, which saw a 14% increase in enrollment last year.

A fortune built not only on inheritance but on strategic vision and timing. This is the type of investor who doesn’t follow trends but anticipates them.