Besides the huge monthly stipends that every Saudi royal receives, the cables detail various money-making schemes some royals have used to finance their lavish lifestyles over the years. Among them: siphoning off money from “off-budget” programs controlled by senior princes, sponsoring expatriate workers who then pay a small monthly fee to their royal patron and, simply, “borrowing from the banks, and not paying them back.”
U.S. cables detail Saudi royal welfare program | Reuters
I know very well connected Saudis (let’s leave it at that) and I have been shocked, truly shocked at some of the statements I’ve heard them make about the Saudi Royal Family. From mild lifestyle revelations (wine cellars that would put French equivalents to shame in a country where alcohol possession could get someone leashed in public), to the import and transit of pork products by Diplomatic Courier (pork is strictly forbidden in Saudi), to abuses that make me shiver just to think of them.
I suspect if the truth ever comes to light, their deeds would make Gaddafi come across as a benevolent dictator.
For the past decade and a half I have been making all my content available for free (and never behind a paywall) as an ongoing practice of ephemeral publishing. This site is no exception. If you wish to help offset my labor costs, you can donate on Paypal or you can subscribe to Patreon where I will not be putting my posts behind a lock but you'd be helping me continue making this work available for everyone. Thank you. Follow me on Twitter for new post updates.