Exclusive: A Day In The Life Of Prince Alwaleed

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, the founder and chairman of Kingdom Holding Company, is a very busy man. Considered the Arab region’s wealthiest man, he has an estimated personal fortune of around $27 billion, according to Bloomberg.

His Kingdom Holding Company has investments in Citigroup, Apple and Twitter, and is currently undertaking billion dollar real estate projects in Saudi Arabia.

But in an exclusive interview with Gulf Business, the businessman discloses that his life is not all about work.

“I have plenty of time to be with my family, watch the news, read, even walk and swim and bike,” he says.

“Life is not that difficult but you have to take the simplified approach.”

Here’s Prince Alwaleed’s daily schedule, in his own words.

Morning

I wake up every day at 10 am and I read until 11 am. During this period, I also watch the local, regional and international news.

Afternoon/early evening

I head to my office in Kingdom Holding at 12 pm and stay there until 6 pm.

On all weekdays, I go to my resort at 6 pm and stay there until 10 pm. I like to spend this period with my family.

Evening

To be exact, from 7 pm to 7.30 pm, we have our meal.

From 7.30 to 9.30 pm, I read for another two hours and watch the news.

At 10 pm, I go biking or walking every day for an hour.

Then I go for some physical therapy and stretching until 11.30 pm and then go back home.

Early morning

From 12 am to 3 am, I do a lot of reading, office paperwork and watch the news – it’s a very intensive three hours.

After 3 am, I walk again for half an hour until prayer time. I have some fruit or salad before praying and going to sleep at 5 am.

Weekends

During the weekends, I go to the desert and stay there. During the day I relax and read.

I have been following this schedule for two decades and it’s going very well for me.

If someone divides his time properly, there is plenty of time to spend with the family, to read, to exercise and enjoy life.

Prince Alwaleed’s recent reading list

· The Price of Politics by Bob Woodward

· The Future of Freedom by Fareed Zakaria

· Breakout Nations by Ruchir Sharma

· Strategic Vision by Zbigniew Brzezinski.