#Saudi Billionaire Bin Talal Made $500 Million Russia Bet Near War’s Onset - Bloomberg

Saudi Billionaire Bin Talal Made $500 Million Russia Bet Near War’s Onset - Bloomberg

Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal invested more than $500 million in Russian firms in the days around Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Prince Alwaleed’s investment firm, Kingdom Holding Co., acquired depositary receipts issued by Gazprom PSJC, Lukoil PJSC and Rosneft PJSC in February, according to a stock exchange filing. Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

No specific dates for the investments were given, and the Saudi firm didn’t respond to questions about whether it still owned them. The value of all those depositary receipts dropped rapidly after the war began, when trading in Moscow was halted and western sanctions were imposed on Russia.

Alwaleed, whose grandfather was the founder of modern Saudi Arabia, is one of the country’s richest men and most high profile international investors. More recently he has been eclipsed by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, chaired by his cousin, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which acquired a 16.9% stake in Kingdom Holding Co. in May.