Pengene skal blandt andet gå til at styrke kvinders stilling, udrydde sygdomme, skaffe elektricitet til landsbyer og sikre nødhjælp til katastrofeofre.
Det meddelte prinsen onsdag på en pressekonference i Saudi Arabiens hovedstad, Riyadh.
Her residerer han i et af sine tre paladser, der angiveligt rummer over 300 sale og værelser og en køkkenstab, som kan bespise op til 2.000 gæster med timers varsel.
Dertil kommer af flåde af kostbare biler, blandt dem Lamborghinier og Ferrarier, en privat zoo og verdens største privatfly, en A380 Flying Palace i to dæk, som han bestilte i 2007 og som bl.a. har en forgyldt tronstol ombord.
217 milliarder kroner svarer sådan nogenlunde til 12-13 gange Danmarks samlede årlige bistand til u-landene.
Inspireret af Melinda og Bill Gates
Prince Alwaleed´s wealth will go towards promoting health, eradicating diseases, providing electric to villages, building orphanages (børnehjem), providing disaster relief and empowering women through his foundation, Alwaleed Philanthropies, according to international news media Wednesday.
“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,” his statement said.
The Prince (60) said he had been inspired by the Gates Foundation, set up by Bill and Melinda Gates in 1997.
The money would be used to “foster cultural understanding”, “empower women”, and “provide vital disaster relief”, among other things, he said.
Mr Bill Gates praised the decision, calling it an “inspiration to all of us working in philanthropy around the world”.
Verdens 34. rigeste
Prince Alwaleed is listed by Forbes at number 34 on the list of the world’s richest people.
The money will go to the prince’s charitable organisation, Alwaleed Philanthropies, to which he has already donated 3.5 billion dollar.
The prince, who does not hold an official government position, is chairman of investment firm Kingdom Holding Company.
The company owns stakes in hotels The Four Seasons, Fairmont and Raffles, as well as News Corp, Citigroup, Twitter and Apple.
“Philanthropy is a personal responsibility, which I embarked upon more than three decades ago and is an intrinsic part of my Islamic faith,” Prince Alwaleed noted.
He said he hoped the gift would “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”.
The donation would take place over several years and would be overseen by a board of trustees, which the Prince will head.
Læs mere om den stenrige saudiske prins, der er sønnesøn af Saudi Arabiens grundlægger, Ibn Saud, på Wikipedia
