This Saudi Prince Is Giving His Entire £20 Billion Fortune To Charity

    Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said that the Gates Foundation inspired him to donate his fortune.

    Laura Silver
    by Laura Silver

    BuzzFeed News Reporter, UK

    Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has pledged to donate his entire £20 billion ($32 billion) fortune to charity, saying that philanthropy “is an intrinsic part of my Islamic faith".

    Fayez Nureldine / Getty Images

    In a statement, he said that "philanthropy is a personal responsibility, which I embarked upon more than three decades ago", the BBC reported.

    The Gates Foundation, set up by tech giant Bill Gates, also inspired the decision.

    Bill Gates congratulated the prince on Twitter, saying the pledge was an "admirable milestone".

    Bill Gates @BillGates

    An admirable milestone! @Alwaleed_Talal inspires with a pledge to donate all of his wealth: http://t.co/PJMBC5GbLX

    Reply Retweet Favorite

    The nephew of Saudi Arabia's King Salman, Prince Alaweed is one of the richest people in the world, appearing at number 34 on Forbes' list billionires, with an estimated net worth of $28.5 billion.

    Facebook / Via Facebook: Prince.AlWaleedbinTalal1

    In the announcement, Prince Alaweed said that the donations, which will be managed over the course of several years, are from his personal wealth and "very much separate from my ownership in [investment firm] Kingdom Holding".

    He had made his personal fortune via investments in companies including Twitter, Apple, the Four Seasons, Citigroup, and News Corp.

    The donations will be overseen by a board of trustees, headed by the prince.

    The money will be used to "help build bridges to foster cultural understanding, develop communities, empower women, enable youth, provide vital disaster relief and create a more tolerant and accepting world", he said.

    Stringer / Getty Images

    The prince has already donated more than $3 billion though his foundation, Alaweed Philanthropies, through which his donations will continue to be channelled.

    The announcement comes during the month of Ramadan, when Muslims are encouraged to engage in more charitable activity than usual.

    "With this pledge, I am honouring my life-long commitment to what matters most – helping to build a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable world for generations to come," he said.

    The prince also shared the news on Twitter, accompanied by a video of the announcement in which he details his plans in full.

    الوليد بن طلال @Alwaleed_Talal

    https://t.co/F0x5bZIPf8 After 35 Years of serving humanity, today I am pledging my wealth to @alwaleed_philan http://t.co/xXYCjOMy9B

    Reply Retweet Favorite

    View this video on YouTube
    youtube.com