[1]: 19–20  As a boy, he ran away from home for a day or two at a time, sleeping in unlocked cars, before attending the King Abdulaziz Military Academy in Riyadh.

[34] Operating from a small, four-room cabin in Riyadh and $30,000 start-up money provided by his father, Al Waleed formed Kingdom Establishment in 1980.

When Al Waleed turned to the international market, he focused on "established brands going through hard times," as Riz Khan puts it.

[1]: 49, 73–76, 121 In September 1990, Citibank was undercapitalized due to real estate credit losses and exposure to Latin America debt, prompting a need for a capital reserve.

Based on his banking experience in the Kingdom, Al Waleed agreed in January 1991 to invest $590 million, about half his accumulated wealth, in a five-year convertible security paying 11 percent interest.

Though he had received a Federal Reserve temporary waiver to own such a large portion of the company, Al Waleed sold enough shares in 1993 to get below the 10 percent threshold.

In October 1995, Al Waleed joined a consortium which paid $1.2 billion for control of Canary Wharf, with his share of the company amounting to 6 percent, costing him $66 million.

[38] Time reported in 1997 that Al Waleed owned about five percent of News Corporation,[39] which he purchased for $400 million, making him the third largest shareholder.

Three years later, News Corporation had a $175 million (19-percent) investment in Al Waleed's Rotana Group, the Arab world's largest entertainment company.

Al Waleed holds a ten-percent stake in Euro Disney S.C.A., the company which owns, manages and maintains Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée.

In January 2006, in partnership with the U.S. real-estate firm Colony NorthStar, Kingdom Holding acquired Toronto-based Fairmont Hotels and Resorts for an estimated $3.9 billion.

It was reported in 2009 that Al Waleed owned 35 percent of Research and Marketing Group (SRMG), a large mid-east media company.

[48] From 2015 to 2021, he lost several lawsuits against Pierre El Daher, CEO of LBCI, and would be required to pay $22m, due to breaches in contract conditions with the Lebanese broadcaster.

[58] Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is Al Waleed's first cousin; both are male-line grandsons of Ibn Saud, first monarch and founder of Saudi Arabia.

[59] In December, some weeks after the arrests, it was reported that the Saudi Arabian authorities were demanding $6 billion from Prince Al Waleed bin Talal in exchange for his release.

[27] Al Waleed had Kingdom Holding's chief financial officer fly to New York before a previous list was published to ensure that Forbes used his stated numbers.

[27] Dolan wrote, "As Forbes asked increasingly specific questions in the process of fact-checking this story, the prince acted unilaterally the day before it was published, announcing through his office that he would 'sever ties' with the list.

"[27] Sanbar said in a press release, "Prince Alwaleed has taken this step as he felt he could no longer participate in a process which resulted in the use of incorrect data and seemed designed to disadvantage Middle Eastern investors and institutions.

"[65] The Guardian reported that on 6 June 2013, Al Waleed had brought a defamation claim in London against the publisher of Forbes; its editor, Randall Lane, and two journalists from the magazine.

[71] Al Waleed advocates for pragmatic governance, praises Giorgia Meloni’s centrist approach, and aligns with Donald Trump on social issues.

[1]: 149 150 In 2002, Al Waleed donated $500,000 to help fund the George Herbert Walker Bush scholarship at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.

He said that the funds would be used for humanitarian projects such as the empowerment of women and youth, disaster relief, disease eradication and building bridges of understanding between cultures.

[74] After the 11 September attacks, Al Waleed gave a cheque for $10 million to New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, despite Saudi opposition.

[75][76] Al Waleed said to a Saudi weekly magazine about Giuliani's rejection of his check, "The whole issue is that I spoke about their position [on the Middle East conflict] and they didn't like it because there are Jewish pressures and they are afraid of them.

[84][85] At his alma mater Syracuse University, Al Waleed is an honorary member of the advisory board of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

[88] Al Waleed owns the 65th-largest private yacht in the world, the 85.9-metre (282 ft) Kingdom 5KR (originally built as the Nabila for Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi in 1979).

According to Time magazine, "Al Waleed lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in a $130 million sand-colored palace whose 317 rooms are adorned with 1,500 tons of Italian marble, silk oriental carpets, gold-plated faucets and 250 TVs.

It has four kitchens, for Arabic, Continental and Asian cuisines, and a fourth just for dishing up desserts, run by chefs who can feed 2,000 people on an hour's notice.

[99] He received the Nepalese third-order Mahaujjval Rastradip Manpadvi, the highest award bestowed on a foreigner,[100] and Guinea-Bissau's Colina De Boe Medal in August 2012.

[101] In June 2013 Al Waleed was made Grand Commander of the Order of the Republic of Sierra Leone (GCRSL), the country's highest honour.