He owns a luxury yacht which was previously owned by Sultan of Brunei and Donald Trump. Although this billionaire’s yacht, Kingdom 5KR (featured in James Bond film – Never Say Never Again), was not as huge as Russian businessman Roman Abramovich’s 557-feet long Eclipse, the biggest in the world and cost a staggering £1 billion, Prince Alwaleed is set to take delivery of an Airbus A380 – the world’s biggest private jet. The £240 million (US$388 million) private jet with a marble-finish Turkish bath, boardroom and concert hall, the same model used by Singapore Airlines and Emirates that can fly 800 passengers 8,000 miles before refuelling, will be Alwaleed’s new collection of private jets on top of his modified Boeing 747 and an Airbus 321.

But the Saudi Prince Alwaleed paid a mind-boggling US$500 million for his new toy due to massive customization. The A380 has cabin size of 478-square-meters of floor space, 49% more floor space than the next competitor, Boeing 747-400. Hence Alwaleed’s new private jet is actually bigger than President of the United States’ Air Force One. Considering Alwaleed bin Talal’s net worth of about US$25.9 billion, the Airbus A380 was considered as probably a new TV set purchase to the business tycoon who owns Kingdom Holding Company, Citicorp, AOL, Apple Inc., Motorola, Twitter and News Corp. Besides couple of palaces, he also owns more than 200 cars – including Rolls Royces, Ferraris, Lamborghinis and whatnot. His jewelry collection alone is worth more than US$700 million.

Interestingly, Alwaleed always refers to himself as the “Buffett of Arabia” although obviously it’s laughable to compare himself with the Oracle of Omaha, billionaire investor Warren Buffett. Once Alwaleed boasted that when Warren was at his current age, the American billionaire was not as rich as him. As obsessed as Malaysian PM Najib Razak in becoming the most popular prime minister ever, Prince Alwaleed is equally obsessed of being the best, the wealthiest of them all by frequently hires appraisers to value his private assets and publish it to every Tom, Dick and his camel’s knowledge. However he made the correct decision in shying from Facebook’s shares.

For now, Alwaleed can’t wait to show off his private jet to everyone, which has even a parking space for his Rolls-Royce and a dedicated prayer area, in which computer-generated mats move to point towards Mecca. Expected to be delivered in the New Year, the most luxurious aircraft in existence that boasts the equivalent of three tennis courts’ worth of floor space would have the following mind-boggling components:

• A dazzling white main spiral staircase as well as a lift which will travel the plane’s three floors and lower onto the tarmac to act as the Prince Alwaleed’s private entrance
• Ample parking space for a Rolls Royce
• A Concert Hall featuring a grand piano, accoustic panelling and seating for an audience of ten.
• A Hamam steam room lined with marble only two millimetres thick to keep the weight down as well as a sensory area for treatments
• A magnificent Wellbeing room for guests featuring a giant screen on the floor allowing them to see what they are flying over
• A full size boardroom featuring a large perspex table which doubles as a huge touchscreen
• A total of five luxury suites as well as a prayer room with electronic mats which automatically turn to face mecca

Other Articles That May Interest You …

• Madinat Al Hareer, Kuwait’s City of Silk at $132 Billion
• Reason Why Oil-Rich Kingdoms Scare Of Uprising
• World’s Tallest Building In Saudi Arabia, Kingdom Tower
• Top 20 Countries With Highest Proportion of Millionaires
• Reviving Dubailand – City Of Arabia or City Of Ego?
• Reason Why Oil-Rich Kingdoms Scare Of Uprising

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December 22nd, 2012 by financetwitter

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