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

turning off the taps?

As Basma bint Saud said in 2012, speaking of the more prominent princes, "you have 2,000 who are multi-millionaires, who have all the power, all the wealth and no-one can even utter a word against it because they are afraid to lose what they have". Meanwhile, the crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman (MbS) flaunts his wealth for all to see. Most famously, he caused a stir by purchasing Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi" for the record sum of $450.3 million, using an intermediary (a lesser known prince named Badr bin Abdallah, later Culture Minister). The painting, now suspected of being a fake, was spirited away, presumably to reside in the crown prince's private collection. His yacht, at 440 feet dwarfing Fahd's Sarafsa, was bought on a whim for $494 million after MbS spotted it while on vacation. He also spent $300 million to buy the Chateau Louis XIV, an opulent property located in France, which sits empty but for staff, awaiting a visit from its new owner.

MbS is unabashed about his wealth - "I'm a rich person and not a poor person", he stated during an interview with the TV program 60 Minutes. The source of his riches is something of a mystery, but for the majority of princes, the traditional means of amassing huge fortunes have been through oil and real estate sales as well as business deals involving links with the government. Additionally, however, royals could count on further perks and benefits which even allowed the routine maintenance costs for airplanes, yachts, and palaces to be covered. Royal bills would normally include taxes, property maintenance, salaries, and even parking fees for jets and mooring fees for yachts, yet in some cases such lavish lifestyles, and the large teams of staff that go with it, meant spending habits had reached $30 million a month. Such perks have amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars in annual costs for the government, and MbS has now hit the brakes. Going forward, princes will have to pay their own bills and trim their monthly living costs.

The late king Abdallah had tried to reign in extravagant spending and endemic corruption, with modest success, but MbS has accelerated the process. One example is a recently implemented tax of $2,500 for each domestic worker beyond the fourth employee, which might cost some royals hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. But as the traditional means of amassing huge fortunes also dry up, many princes have been forced to liquidate their assets. As the Wall Street Journal has reported, together they have sold more than $600 million worth of "real estate, yachts, and artwork" in recent years, with even "Mughal jewels gifted as wedding presents by a late king" going on the auction block. In some cases, this may reflect a trend among the younger generation for less ostentatious displays of wealth, such as fabulous mansions and mega-yachts, but there is also a underlying fear that MbS will continue to cut down on royal privileges and access to state funds, even beyond what has taken place already.

But another dynamic is at work - princes are recoiling at the thought of attracting any unwanted attention from the crown prince, since their lavish spending and displays of ostentation might put the focus squarely on the source of their riches, with potentially life-changing consequences. The "purge" of 2017, in which dozens of princes were rounded up and confined to the Ritz Carlton hotel, where they were shaken down on allegations of corruption, is a very recent memory. Even the most senior royals were not spared, with Mit'ab bin Abdallah, the National Guard commander, and billionaire investor al-Walid bin Talal among those forced to make "deals" which may have laid waste to their personal fortunes. The unchallenged supremacy of the crown prince puts the royals in a position where status and position no longer provide immunity, for he has set his sights on remaking the Kingdom in his image, no matter the enemies made.

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