On Saturday, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal was released from Alcatraz. And by Alcatraz I mean the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton, which is what counts as “prison” for Saudi royals caught up in Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to consolidate power, shore up SAMA reserves, and just generally let everyone know who’s going to be running shit for the foreseeable future.
Although Prince Miteb bin Abdullah’s detention was arguably more interesting, Alwaleed grabbed all the international headlines because, well, because he’s a celebrity and a well-known international investor.
There was no shortage of speculation about exactly how he was being treated and about what it was his cousin was trying to get out of him, but ultimately, the situation was “resolved” this week and as of Saturday, Alwaleed was apparently back chillin’ at the crib doing whatever you do when you’re a Saudi billionaire (maybe play with pet tigers or wipe down your Lamborghinis with a chamois).
And although I’m reasonably sure you don’t care, it is worth noting that Kingdom Holding – which plunged upon news of his detention in November and hadn’t recovered – was limit up on Sunday:
That right there is the biggest gain since November of 2014, and 10% is the daily limit.
Only another 2% to go before this whole bizarre episode is “forgiven” – or at least according to the stock.
And look, this wasn’t a complete waste for Alwaleed. After all, he did get a commemorative mug as a keepsake and a reminder of the time his cousin locked him up in the nicest hotel on the planet for no reason…
Oh, and meanwhile…
Saudi Central Bank Foreign Assets Rise for Third Month in Dec.
— Heisenberg Report (@heisenbergrpt) January 28, 2018
Wonder if we will ever find out how much MbS charged Alwaleed?
Probably a little symbolic kissing of the ring going on also….. Can I have his old cell/room?
you should see the BBC tv news clip….”his old cell” has NO windows, dank artificial lighting, it’s blood money i tell you. but outwardly it looks rich.
The mug (shot) was a nice touch.
🙂