The value of a man

Albert Schweitzer once wrote that the true worth of a man is not to be found in man himself, but in the colours and textures that come alive in those around him.

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal certainly seems to be doing his colourful part these days, although in a fashion that brings to mind another of Schweitzer’s thoughtful sayings: “Man is a clever animal who behaves like an imbecile.”

In it’s annual ranking of world billionaires, Forbes magazine pegged Alwaleed as No. 26 on this year’s totem pole, based on a valuation of his personal wealth at a tidy $20 billion.

That would suffice for most of us, we suppose, but the prince has taken the view that Forbes has shortchanged his true value by about $9.6 billion. Naturally, this troubles him greatly. As a result, Alwaleed has decided to sue Forbes for libel in a British court. The 58-year-old prince, a grandson of Saudi Arabia’s founder and nephew of King Abdullah, has attacked the U.S. magazine’s ranking as flawed and also biased against Middle Eastern businesses.

Through his Kingdom Holding Company, Alwaleed owns large stakes in Citigroup, News Corp and Apple Inc, among other companies. He is also owner or part-owner of some of the world’s finest luxury hotels, including the Plaza in New York, the Savoy in London and the George V in Paris.

A recent Forbes feature article on the richest man in the Arab world — a distinction so far undisputed — described Alwaleed’s marble-filled, 420-room Riyadh palace; his private Boeing 747 equipped with a throne; and his 120-acre resort on the edge of the Saudi capital with five homes, five artificial lakes and a mini-Grand Canyon.