Saudi Arabia's billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal on Wednesday pledged his entire $32-billion (28.8-billion-euro) fortune to charitable projects over the coming years.
The prince said in a statement that the "philanthropic pledge will help build bridges to foster cultural understanding, develop communities, empower women, enable youth, provide vital disaster relief and create a more tolerant and accepting world."
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He said there was no time limit, adding:"This is an open situation. In time all my wealth will go to good causes. Right now the bulk of the income not the assets will go to good causes."
The prince said this decision was "a big incentive for me to make more profits".
He added the Alwaleed Foundation would be the recipient of the funds.
Alwaleed was surrounded by this two children Prince Khaled and Princess Reem as he made the announcement. He said both were supportive of his decision
He added: "What I am doing today is institutionalising the process. After my death my son will become the president of the board of trustees and and my daughter Vice President. This will make it very clear how this is operated."
He stressed that no shares in Kingdom Holding were being sold and that he would continue to run the company as before. He said all his wealth would still be in full control.
He also said he was not making this decision for health reasons.
"I am doing this now because I feel great and am in good shape. This is, you could say, a living will that I am making today."
He said that the Bill and Melinda Foundation was a role model for philanthropy.
Alwaleed’s investments through Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) have been across a multitude of sectors around the world and current investments include stakes and holdings in American lender Citigroup, Canary Wharf London developer Songbird Estates, Jeddah Economic Company (which is developing the 1km tower in Jeddah to the tallest in the world), Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Fairmont Raffles Holding Intl., Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts, New York’s The Plaza hotel, London’s Savoy Hotel, Paris’ Four Seasons George V Hotel, Saudi carrier Flynas, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, Disneyland Paris and Twitter.
KHC has also previously held stakes in household names, including Amazon, AOL / Time Warner, Apple, Coca-Cola, Compaq, eBay, Ford, Hewlett-Packard, McDonald's, Motorola Mobility, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble and Saks Incorporated.