The Forbes billionaires list, seemingly designed to stroke the egos of the world’s richest people, has pricked one of them in painful fashion, alleging that Prince Alwaleed bin Talal “systematically exaggerates” his wealth.
Hours after the Saudi investor issued a press release announcing that he was “severing ties” with the benchmark of billionaires’ bragging rights, the magazine published a lengthy investigation into his net worth.
Forbes’ estimate, up $2bn in the last year to $20bn, stands $9.6bn below the prince’s own estimate. Most of the gap, it said, stems from a lower assessment of his 95 per cent stake in Kingdom Holding, which houses his investments in assets including Four Seasons hotels, Citigroup and News Corp.