His Royal Highness Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud—or Alwaleed, as he’s known in the Middle East—is a highly successful international investor, a member of the Saudi Royal family (and nephew of the king), and the biggest individual foreign investor in the United States. He first came to prominence in the West in 1991, after paying $590 million for a 14.9 percent stake in then-struggling Citicorp (now Citigroup). His investment quickly became worth billions of dollars when the US financial giant pulled itself back from the brink of bankruptcy and resumed its profitable growth. Most recently, he has attracted headlines by teaming up with Bill Gates to back a $3.7 billion management buyout of the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

Alwaleed’s business empire today includes extensive direct investments (in real estate, banking, retailing, industrial, media, and construction) in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the region—such as private holdings centered on his Kingdom Holding (KHC) projects—plus a range of significant minority interests in some of the world’s more prominent companies. Besides Citigroup (where his shareholding now stands at 3.6 percent), his holdings include Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, News Corporation, Time Warner, the Walt Disney Company, Canary Wharf (in the United...