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Prince Al Waleed recalls coal-mining youth in candid new interview

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Prince Al Waleed recalls coal-mining youth in candid new interview

Saudi billionaire opens up about time working down the pits
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RIYADH: Having already made the shocking revelation that his multi-billion dollar empire began in a tiny shack near Riyadh, Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal has now spoken out for the first time about his early years working in a British coal mine.

In an emotional interview to be broadcast on MBC tomorrow, the Arab world’s richest man recalled a youth spent working “down the pits” and enjoying few of the luxuries he has today.

“Some weeks we’d get nowt but a piece of coal. And not good coal – the bad stuff they couldn’t sell. I’d take that home to the palace and we’d share it out between 15 of us. But we were happy,” he said, wiping his eyes on a diamond encrusted handkerchief carried by a team of porters and delivered via its own personal helicopter.

“Back then, I’d have never have dreamed about owning a fleet of jumbos and kitting them all out with panda fur and Jacuzzis and gold like I do nowadays, it were just about making ends meet.

“People used to say, ‘Waleed, lad, you’re meant for more than this.’ But down at the colliery, I were just one of the lads.”

Al Waleed’s astonishing rags to riches story is soon set to be dramatised for the silver screen, with George Clooney to play the prince in a multi-million dollar production by Rotana, owned by Prince Al Waleed.

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5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. Akram Sawaf

    May 26, 2013 at 6:33 am

    “wiping his eyes on a diamond encrusted handkerchief carried by a team of porters and delivered via its own personal helicopter.” EPIC!

    Reply

  2. Chris de Burj

    May 28, 2013 at 8:31 am

    it’s inspiring how these billionaires have dragged themselves up by the bootstraps.

    Not that any of them would have been lucky enough to have bootstraps, or boots… it was more normal to walk around on pieces of broken glass which had been tied to their feet with rusty barbed wire. Only the posh kids could have it nailed to their feet, jammy devils.

    But you try telling that to the youth of today and they won’t believe it.

    Reply

  3. Dave Whitby

    May 28, 2013 at 12:56 pm

    Aye, you were lucky! In mae day we were thankful for just getting to go in the pit to keep warm, We had now’t tools neither, had ta use mae teeth on t’coalface! We were happy for having that much, nowt grumbling like younguns today..

    Reply

    • Chris de Burj

      May 29, 2013 at 7:17 am

      Teeth…. you had teeth ? We used to dream of teeth. Our da’ used to knock them out every morning to wake us up, then give them to his fourth wife so she didn’t have to chew qhat with her gums.

      Then he would hit our faces with a shovel to put them back in so we could eat sand for our dinner – cold sand, mind, with dried camel dung, not the fresh type.

      Ah, those were the days.

      Reply

  4. JimmyJamJam

    July 29, 2013 at 5:52 pm

    Camel dung…luxury!

    Reply

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