Two of the richest men in the world, and the two richest men in the United States and Saudi Arabia respectively, are teaming up through their foundations to finally eradicate polio, according to a press release.
“The Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation-Global (Registered in Lebanon), chaired by HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, signed a Memorandum of Collaboration (MOC) in a unique partnership with The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, co-chaired by Mr. Bill Gates to bolster the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation has pledged $30 Million to this critical global effort…
“Details of the collaboration will be announced as part of The Global Vaccine Summit ‘Celebrating Progress, Saving Lives’ that will take place on April 24th, 2013 in Abu Dhabi, under the patronage of HH General Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and in partnership with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Mr. Bill Gates and HRH Prince Alwaleed.”
Bill Gates is the second richest man in the world, behind Mexico’s Carlos Slim, according to a Forbes ranking. Prince Alwaleed is 26th on that list, despite registering a well-publicized complaint about his placement. Alwaleed said on April 2nd that he will pursue legal action against Forbes “firmly and legally.”
Alwaleed also said in a wide-ranging interview on several Saudi television networks that his disagreement wasn’t “just related to Forbes – it’s related to Saudi Arabia, the Saudi stock market and trading in the market. They said the market and trading environment was like a casino. We don’t accept his. We took it upon ourselves to defend the kingdom, its reputation, and market trading. Saudi Arabia is a G20 nation; it has a strong and valuable economy. Therefore we don’t accept these accusations and will stand up to them,” according to Arabian Business.
Prince Alwaleed also said, when asked if the agreement was personal, ““No no… US$1bn, US$10bn this has no value to me. It’s of course important but it’s not essential. But the attack on Saudi Arabia’s monetary system and its policies related to the stock market? This is completely rejected.”
