The fabulous life of the Saudi Arabian millennial prince who bought $12 million DC castle as a Georgetown student and flies in a private jet for $30,000 an hour
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Mar 23, 2018, 18:53 IST
Khalid bin Salman al-Saud is Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States.
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The 28-year-old is a member of Saudi Arabia's royal family — he's the son of King Salman of Saudi Arabia, and his older brother is Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
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Ambassador al-Saud was in the room when the Crown Prince met with President Donald Trump this week.
Al-Said is used to a lavish lifestyle. His father King Salman, who became king in 2015, has an estimated net worth of $17 billion, according to The Washington Post.
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Salman's spending habits in oil-rich Saudi Arabia are widely known — on one plane trip he was once reported to have taken 506 tons of luggage, including a pair of Mercedes-Benz limousines and two electric elevators.
Al-Saud's life has changed dramatically since being named ambassador in 2017. Just four years ago, he was a fighter pilot with the Royal Saudi Air Force.
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Now, al-Saud is reportedly living in an eight-bedroom mansion outside of Washington, DC that he bought for $12 million, according to The Daily Mail.
The sprawling mansion in Great Falls, Virginia, is known as Le Chateau de Lumiere, or the Palace of Light.
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Al-Saud reportedly bought the house two months before he became ambassador in February 2017, while he was still a student at Georgetown University.
Chateau de Lumiere was named the Home of the Year at the 2007 Great American Living Awards, according to The Washington Post.
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The massive house boasts a home theater, a sauna, a basketball court, and a swimming pool surrounded by fire bowls and Corinthian columns.
Al-Saud has reportedly spent $8 million while working as ambassador. According to The Daily Mail, he charters a luxury 767 jet that costs $30,000 an hour.
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The luxury plane, operated by the Swiss firm Comlux, has 63 seats, an office, and a master bedroom.
The plane is currently on sale for $65 million, according to The Daily Mail.
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Not everyone is pleased that the royal was selected as ambassador. 'It's a sign of the times when the Saudi king suddenly has his children in positions for which they have virtually zero qualifications,' said policy expert Rami Khouri of the University of Beirut.
Qualified or not, al-Saud's star is quickly rising in Washington and around the world.