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Princes In The Age Of MbS: From Riches To Rags?

by Senior Analyst Talal Kapoor

Fahd bin Sultan, the governor of Tabuk province, is the latest in a string of senior royals to divest himself of high-profile assets. His 269-foot megayacht "Sarafsa" has gone up for sale at the asking price of $78.6 million after he seems to have run into financial difficulties. Sarafsa, under his sole ownership for 15 years, was delivered by Devonport at their Appledore shipyard and still holds the record for the largest yacht ever built in the UK. Currently sailing under the Cayman Islands flag, she is moored at Portisco in northeastern Sardinia and has been spotted cruising off Italy. With accommodation for 14 guests across seven staterooms spread over six decks, Sarafsa also sports two formal dining rooms, an 11-seat cinema, a hairdressing salon, and a spa area which includes a swimming pool, jacuzzi, gym, and hammam. She carries a crew of 20 people in 10 cabins. Annual running costs, however, are on the order of $15 million per year.

It was the inability to keep up with maintenance expenses that prompted Fahd to refinance the superyacht, as well as a mansion property in England, with loans secured by two companies he controlled. But a default on the pair of loans those companies provided for refinancing the luxury purchases has now resulted in a lawsuit against Fahd. Credit Suisse Group's suit, filed in London, alleges that he failed to repay the bank around $78 million in interest and loans. Even though in this case dire straits forced Fahd's hand, his situation is far from unique, as other high-flying princes have also been attracting media attention as they shed their most prized possessions.

Bandar bin Sultan, notably, has sold his Cotswolds country estate to the King of Bahrain for over $156 million. The former ambassador's property included an 18th-century Glympton House, 39 cottages, a Norman parish church, and 167 acres of parkland. His family also recently sold off a mansion in London's Knightsbridge neighborhood that went for a record $290 million. His brother, a former defense minister of Gulf War fame, Khalid bin Sultan, sold a Paris mansion next to the Eiffel Tower for over $87 million in 2020, and a superyacht the year before. And a cousin, Turki bin Nasir, sold his 203-foot yacht in 2020 and a $28.5 million home in Los Angeles's exclusive Beverley Park community in 2021.

These princes are fabulously wealthy, having used their positions and profile to enrich themselves beyond imagination. Bandar, who is known to have transferred tens of millions of dollars from government accounts at the Saudi American Bank directly to proxy accounts in Switzerland to help fund his lifestyle, was, along with Turki, implicated in the al-Yamamah arms deal scandal of the 1980s. Though an investigation into their involvement was ultimately suspended, both princes are suspected of profiting from their connections to earn vast sums by acting as "middlemen". In fact, taking such a "liaison" role has been a common way for royals to supplement the monthly stipend which each prince receives, in varying amounts, depending on their relationship to the Kingdom's founder, Ibn Saud. While the most senior members can count on tens of thousands per month, this is not nearly enough to finance the luxurious lifestyle considered 'de rigeur' for a jet-setting prince. The easiest way to riches has always been to "facilitate" business deals, taking a commission which could occasionally reach staggering amounts, as in the al-Yamamah deal for a major weapons contract from BAE Systems.

Other, equally unsavory methods of supplementing one's income might include taking out loans which were never intended to be repaid, illegally appropriating land, or taking advantage of government connections to acquire real estate slated for development, at a bargain price, then reselling it for profit. With change afoot, however, many of the perks and benefits of royal status are rapidly becoming a thing of the past.

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