I've noticed something interesting lately about the global billionaire scene. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Al Saud has just re-entered the Forbes list with $16.5 billion in 2025, becoming the richest man in the Arab world. But what strikes me isn't just the number – it's how this guy builds wealth in such a strategic and diversified way.

For those who don't know him, Alwaleed Bin Talal Al Saud is the grandson of the founding king of Saudi Arabia and the Prime Minister of Lebanon. He was already on the Forbes list in 2017 with $18.7 billion, then disappeared from the radar when Forbes stopped counting Saudi billionaires. Now he's back and is the only one among the Saudi billionaires from that year to reappear – and look at that, he's first among the current 15 Saudi billionaires.

The foundation of his fortune is Kingdom Holding Company, which he founded 45 years ago and still controls with 78.13% of the shares. It’s worth about $6.4 billion on its own, but the group's total portfolio reaches $19 billion. What fascinates me is how he distributes all this money – he doesn't put everything into a single sector but creates a network of calculated investments.

In tech, Kingdom Holding is the second-largest shareholder of X (formerly Twitter) and Elon Musk's xAI. Last year, they increased their investment in xAI to $800 million during rounds B and C. The prince had already supported Musk's acquisition of Twitter in 2022, and when the merger between X and xAI was announced in March, he doubled down. He now expects his investment in this joint venture to reach between $4 and $5 billion in the coming years. They also hold positions in Meta, Uber, Didi, and other platforms.

Hotels account for nearly 31% of the portfolio. Alwaleed Bin Talal Al Saud has a longstanding partnership with Bill Gates in Four Seasons – owning 23.7% after selling half of his previous stake to Gates for $2.21 billion in 2021. They also control 6.8% of Accor, the French hotel giant with brands like Fairmont and Raffles.

In the financial sector, there's a legendary investment: in 1991, he put $800 million into Citigroup, which became worth $10 billion by 2005. Today, Kingdom Holding owns 1.06% of Citigroup and is the largest shareholder of Banque Saudi Fransi with 16.2%.

Real estate accounts for 25.9% of the portfolio – projects like the Kingdom Centre in Riyadh and Jeddah Tower, which is expected to surpass 1,000 meters when completed. In aviation, they control 37.2% of Flynas, the low-cost airline operating 61 aircraft. According to what the prince announced on X, Flynas will go public on the Saudi stock exchange this year with the goal of raising at least $2 billion.

Even education and healthcare receive attention – they control 89.8% of the Kingdom School System and 4.9% of Dallah Health. The school saw a 14% increase in enrollments last year, suggesting that Alwaleed Bin Talal Al Saud sees long-term potential in these sectors.

What strikes me most is the consistency of the strategy – it's not just accumulated wealth, it's orchestrated wealth. Every investment seems to have a logic behind it, whether it's emerging technology, critical infrastructure, or sectors that will benefit from Saudi Arabia's economic growth. This is the kind of diversification most investors only theorize about.