A Saudi Prince will donate his entire $32 billion (£20bn) fortune to charity as part of a pledge modelled on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal announced his intention to donate the majority of his wealth to philanthropic causes in a press conference on Wednesday.
Speaking in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, Prince Alwaleed said his vast wealth would go towards promoting health, eradicating diseases, providing electric to villages, building orphanages, providing disaster relief and empowering women through his foundation, Alwaleed Philanthropies.
“The philanthropic pledge will help build bridges to foster cultural understanding, develop communities, empower women, enable youth, provide vital disaster relief and create a more tolerant and accepting world,” his statement said.
“Philanthropy is a personal responsibility, which I embarked upon more than three decades ago and is an intrinsic part of my Islamic faith. With this pledge, I am honoring my life-long commitment to what matters most – helping to build a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable world for generations to come.”
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation works to improve health care, education and reduce extreme poverty around the world. It asks the wealthy to pledge the majority of their wealth to philanthropy and counts Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook as pledgers.
The Prince will continue to retain his publicly-listed investment business, Kingdom Holding. He stressed that there was no deadline for donating all of the funds.
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!
