You Don’t Mess With Alwaleed bin Talal→

The prince is involved in an ongoing argument with Forbes, after the magazine in March knocked almost $10bn off his estimated $29.6bn wealth and said it had doubts about the way Kingdom’s stock had risen sharply during the period when it collected its valuation data.

The prince denied Kingdom’s share price was manipulated and said he planned to take legal action against Forbes “within weeks”. “You can’t have a magazine say that Saudi Arabia trading is rigged,” he said. “And you can’t also attack Alwaleed bin Talal.”

Forbes said they stand by their story.

Alwaleed Calls for Lifting Ban on Women Drivers→

Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has indicated support of allowing women there to drive.

He says that would help the kingdom’s campaign to cut down on the number of foreign workers.

Saudi Arabia follows an ultraconservative interpretation of Islam and bans women from driving.

“The question of allowing women to drive in Saudi Arabia will save more than 500,000 jobs in addition to the social and economic benefits,” the prince wrote Sunday on his Twitter account.

This is not the first time that Alwaleed publicly expresses his support of women driving. Why is it news now?

Alwaleed Calls for Elections→

Saudi billionaire prince Alwaleed bin Talal has called for parliamentary elections in the absolute monarchy where the king names members of a toothless Shura consultative council.

Prince Alwaleed, the richest Arab businessman and a nephew of King Abdullah, said in a television interview aired late Tuesday the monarch’s January decision to appoint 30 women to the council was “very important” but needed to go further.

“For this to become historic, I think two things are essential: first, elections, even if partial, and, more importantly, (giving) powers,” he said in the interview aired on several channels, most belonging to his media empire.

When the interview was first advertised some people wondered if this was an attempt of PR damage control after the prince’s spat with Forbes magazine over his wealth. The controversy only received a brief mention during the interview, where Alwaleed said this was not about his wealth but rather about defending the Saudi stock market and its integrity. Commenters on Twitter said the interview was meant as an introduction to Alwaleed and to show that he wants to become more involved in the public disource in the country. He has praised King Abdullah, but he kept saying much reform is still needed. It is hard to say if Alwaleed is a serious contneder for succession, but he clearly does not lack ambition.

Alwaleed Supports Controversial Levy on Foreign Workers

As business owners continue to rally agains the Ministry of Labor’s decision to impose new fees on visas for expatriate workers, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal came out today to express his support to MOL’s decision and praised Labor Minister Adel Fakeih after meeting him recently in Riyadh.

“The SR 200 monthly fee on business owners employing less than 50% Saudis is a very small amount to pay by them for the benefit of their country,” Alwaleed said. “Any company or organization that wants to avoid paying those fees can do so by employing 50% Saudis.”

Alwaleed is a businessman and member of the Saudi royal family. As of November 30, 2012, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index listed him as the 16th-richest man in the world, with an estimated net worth of $25.2 billion.

MOL’s decision to increase foreign workers visa fees is part of a series of steps taken by the ministry to increase the number of Saudi nationals working in the private sector. The Saudization efforts aim to decrease the unemployment rate in the country, estimated to be above 10 percent.

The Princess Won’t Protest In The Street→

Princess Ameerah al-Taweel says it is up to the government to allow women to drive and that it is a decision that Saudi leaders should take. Speaking to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Prince Alwaleed’s wife said Saudi women lack the “amazing lobby” that conservatives have. Women, she said, are not organized enough to exert pressure on the government to change its policies.

She makes some good points about the pace of change in the country and how “rights are not given, they are taken,” but she totally dodged Amanpour’s question on how her situation as a princess gives her protection to pursue her women empowerment effort.

“We are not going to protest in the street,” she said.

Manal al-Sharif probably does not want to protest in the street, either, if she had other means to gain her rights. Princess Ameerah talked about the lack of civil society but failed to mention that it is the government who is stifling the development of such society by dragging their feet on passing the civil society law.

Does the princess truly believe that she would be able to do the work she does at her husband’s foundation if they were not members of the royal family? ♦

Reform Too Slow→

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal:

Saudi Arabia is undertaking political, social and economic reforms, (but can I) say it's going as fast as I want? For sure it's not. Saudi Arabia could expedite the process of reform on the political, economic and social fronts ... Twitter is playing a big it's important the rulers of Arab countries that didn't see change learn the lesson and have a peaceful evolution

Hear, hear.