Mohammed Bin Salman Is Among the Richest World Leaders

Few people outside the world’s largest oil exporter Saudi Arabia had heard of Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud before his father, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, became king in 2015. However, the 36-year-old crown prince is now seen as the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia.

Mohammed bin Salman has received praise from Western leaders for some of the measures he has taken in the conservative Gulf kingdom, including the lifting of the ban on female drivers. Here's a look at bin Salman's net worth, personal life, and career.

Bin Salman’s estimated net worth is about $5 billion, according to CelebrityNetWorth. In 2018, his net worth was estimated to be $3 billion.

Bin Salman was born on Aug. 31, 1985, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Fahda bint Falah Al Hithlain. Bin Salman is the eighth child and seventh son of his father, and the eldest of his mother’s children. Bin Salman graduated from King Saud University with a bachelor's degree in law.

Bin Salman married his first cousin Sara bint Mashour, the daughter of his paternal uncle Mashour bin Abdulaziz, on April 6, 2008. They have five children together.

Before becoming his father's personal aide, bin Salman worked in the private sector for several years after graduating from college. On Dec. 15, 2009, at the age of 24, he entered politics as a special advisor to his father, who was the governor of Riyadh at the time.

In June 2017, bin Salman was appointed crown prince of Saudi Arabia and first deputy prime minister of Saudi Arabia. From April 2015 until June 2017, he served as Saudi Arabia's deputy crown prince and second deputy prime minister. In Jan. 2015, bin Salman became minister of defense. He also holds the position of president of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs. Bin Salman serves as chairman of the Public Investment Fund, which has assets under management of $500 billion.

Bin Salman has led several reforms, including the removal of the ban on women drivers and regulations that limit the power of the religious police. Other cultural advancements under his reign include the first Saudi sports stadium to allow women, the first Saudi public concert by a female singer, and a higher number of women in the workforce. Bin Salman's Vision 2030 initiative intends to diversify the economy by investing in non-oil areas such as technology and tourism.

In Nov. 2017, Al Saud conducted an "anticorruption campaign," in which he detained and compelled numerous influential Saudis to hand over their wealth. His cousin, famed billionaire investor Prince Al-Waleed, was among those detained. In Oct. 2018, journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, by a 15-man assassination squad that arrived from Riyadh on a private jet. Both incidents are widely believed to have been personally led by bin Salman.

A Saudia Arabian dissident claimed that bin Salman once boasted about killing the kingdom’s former monarch, King Abdullah. On Oct. 24, 2021, Saad al-Jabri made a claim in an interview on CBS News' 60 Minutes. Al-Jabri didn’t provide evidence on the television show, but the claim is one of several unproven allegations he has made against bin Salman.