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Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, widely regarded as the kingdom’s de facto ruler, has long been associated with extraordinary wealth and extravagant spending. His reported acquisitions include a superyacht worth hundreds of millions of dollars, a château near Paris once described as the world’s most expensive private residence, and a painting by Leonardo da Vinci that sold for a record-breaking price.

But now, according to The Wall Street Journal, the 41-year-old prince is taking refuge in heavily guarded palaces equipped with bunkers amid attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The militants have targeted Saudi airports and oil infrastructure while threatening shipping in the Red Sea.

The contrast between the crown prince’s lavish lifestyle and the current security situation highlights how vulnerable even one of the region’s most powerful figures can be to instability along his country’s borders.

A Superyacht Worth Hundreds of Millions

In 2015, Mohammed bin Salman, widely known as MBS, acquired the 133-meter superyacht Serene. According to published reports, he spent just about half a day aboard before deciding to buy the vessel from a Russian liquor-industry magnate for €429 million — approximately $572 million at the time.

The yacht features two helipads, an underwater observation room, a cinema, an enormous hot tub and a striking spiral staircase overlooking a grand piano. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had previously chartered the vessel for a reported $5 million a week.

In their book Blood and Oil, journalists Bradley Hope and Justin Scheck claim that a former helicopter hangar was converted into a nightclub with dance poles. According to the authors, crew members are prohibited from entering the club, while the yacht’s multimedia equipment allows it to be transformed from a venue for political meetings into a setting for private parties.

A Château With an Underwater Room and iPhone-Controlled Fountains

That same year, the prince reportedly purchased the Château Louis XIV near Versailles for more than $300 million. At the time, the property was described as the world’s most expensive private residence.

From the outside, the château resembles a 17th-century palace. In reality, however, it is a modern mansion built after an earlier 19th-century structure was demolished. The approximately 57-acre estate features manicured gardens, a maze and elaborate fountains. Inside are gilded interiors, frescoed ceilings, a cinema and a swimming pool.

One of its most unusual features is an underwater room beside the moat, where visitors can watch fish swimming overhead. The fountains, lighting and air conditioning throughout the house were reportedly controlled using an iPhone.

According to The New York Times, advisers to the royal family confirmed that Mohammed bin Salman was the property’s ultimate owner, although the purchase was made through a chain of shell companies. Saudi representatives declined to comment at the time.

The prince has also been linked to another French property, the approximately 620-acre Le Rouvre estate, where he reportedly sought permission to build a hunting complex.

A Palace Complex on the Red Sea

Another vast property emerged in satellite images of the area surrounding NEOM, Saudi Arabia’s proposed $2 trillion megaproject. The coastal palace complex reportedly includes private beaches, extensive gardens, a golf course and 10 helipads.

Business Insider suggested that the complex could belong to Mohammed bin Salman, comparing publicly available information with a 2018 Reuters report about plans for five royal palaces in a Moroccan architectural style, a marina and a golf course. The article presented the proposed connection to the prince as a possibility, not a confirmed fact.

The $450 Million Painting

The crown prince’s name has also been linked to Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World), which depicts Christ raising one hand in blessing while holding a transparent orb in the other.

In 2017, the painting sold at auction for a record $450.3 million. Media reports identified another member of the Saudi royal family as the buyer acting on the prince’s behalf. Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism later announced that it had acquired the painting. Its ultimate ownership has therefore remained the subject of separate reports and subsequent clarifications.

A $50 Million Party in the Maldives

Blood and Oil also recounts Mohammed bin Salman’s private getaway in the Maldives in July 2015. According to the authors, the prince spent $50 million to rent the Velaa resort for a month. Around 150 women were reportedly brought to the island to entertain several dozen men.

Performers included rapper Pitbull, South Korean singer Psy and DJ Afrojack. Guests were offered villas with private pools, butler service and even artificial snow. Many of the roughly 40 villas had been built on stilts over the Indian Ocean.

According to the authors, staff were forbidden from using smartphones and received bonuses of $5,000 each. Two employees were allegedly fired for violating the ban. Parties continued until dawn, with guests waking up later in the afternoon. On one occasion, the book claims, the prince climbed onto the stage during Afrojack’s performance and took over the DJ booth himself.

The festivities reportedly came to an end less than a week after news of the crown prince’s presence on the island leaked.

Trump, Hollywood Stars and High-Profile Connections

The prince’s international connections have extended well beyond private parties. During a visit to Britain in 2018, he met Queen Elizabeth II. That year, as part of an overseas tour, he also met prominent figures in the technology industry, including Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Elon Musk.

MBS also cultivated ties with Donald Trump. During Trump’s first overseas trip as US president in 2017, Riyadh welcomed him with a projection approximately 15 meters tall featuring the American leader.

Among the celebrities associated with MBS were Oprah Winfrey, Michael Douglas and Morgan Freeman. Reports about his interactions with actress Lindsay Lohan attracted particular attention. Media outlets claimed that the two exchanged messages regularly and that the prince gave her expensive gifts, including a credit card. Lohan denied the allegations. Her father, Michael Lohan, later told Page Six that they were simply friends and that their connection stemmed from the actress’s work in the Middle East, particularly her efforts to help refugees.

More recent reports have described the prince as a friend of Johnny Depp. According to those accounts, the actor spent more than seven weeks in Saudi Arabia in 2024, staying in royal palaces and camps and traveling by yacht and helicopter. Depp was also said to have used the prince’s private Boeing 747 to fly to London for a Jeff Beck tribute concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

A photograph published among materials related to Jeffrey Epstein has also shown the prince standing beside the convicted sex offender in an ornate room decorated with portraits and a flag. According to the documents, the image was forwarded in a group chat in 2016. The messages do not establish when or where the photograph was taken or who captured it. The image itself does not establish any wrongdoing.

‘Game of Thrones’

The prince’s lavish spending has drawn scrutiny against the backdrop of Saudi Arabia’s 2017 anti-corruption campaign. Princes, ministers and business executives were detained and held at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh. According to the country’s then-attorney general, Saud al-Mojeb, some detainees agreed to hand over funds allegedly obtained through illicit means in exchange for their release.

Mohammed bin Salman rejected accusations that the campaign amounted to a political purge, describing such claims as “ludicrous.”

The prince has generally avoided discussing the details of his personal fortune. In a 2018 interview with CBS, he acknowledged owning “large pieces of land” but emphasized that he donated generously to charity.

“My personal life is something that I would like to keep to myself, and I’m not trying to draw attention to it,” he said.

At the same time, the crown prince did not deny that he lived comfortably.

“As for my personal expenses, I am a rich person, not a poor person. I’m not Gandhi or Mandela. I’m a member of a ruling family that has existed for hundreds of years, long before the founding of Saudi Arabia,” he said.

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