Saudi billionaire Prince Al-Walid Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz said Monday, September 17, he would not sell any of his substantial investments in the United States following the September 11 terror attacks, which he strongly condemned.
"I will not sell any of my shares in any (US) company," Prince Al-Walid said in a statement issued in Riyadh by his Kingdom Holding Company. "I believe investors should refrain from selling over the next few days. Panic is only going to hurt those who do not understand the mechanism of the US economy. The American economy is solid and I am not selling anything," he said. "I am as confident now as I have always been that the United States economy can, and will, withstand any jitters," Al-Walid added.
Al-Walid, 43, a nephew of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd, was ranked as the world's sixth wealthiest entrepreneur with over $20 billion in investments by the US magazine Forbes. He built his global financial empire by investing in major companies experiencing hard times.
The Saudi tycoon has investments worth several billion dollars in the United States, including Citigroup, News Corp. ADR, AOL Time Warner, Apple Computer, Motorola and Kodak.
Al-Walid condemned the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington as "heinous crimes." "We condemn terrorism in all its forms. Terrorism is the weapon of cowards," he said. ― (AFP, Riyadh)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
