Dedicates a whopping $32 billion to empower women, foster cultural understanding
July 2, 2015: HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Alwaleed Philanthropies, announced his intention to donate all of his wealth to philanthropy over the coming years to help build a “better world of tolerance, acceptance, equality and opportunity for all”. This $32 billion 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. “It is a commitment without boundaries. A commitment to all humankind,” Prince Alwaleed said.
In his announcement, Prince Alwaleed stated: “Based on my dedication and passion for philanthropic work for the past 35 years, I now pledge to donate my entire wealth to the Alwaleed Philanthropies, which work in the main fields of intercultural understanding, supporting needy communities, through health promotion, eradication of diseases, provision of electric power to remote villages and hamlets, building orphanages and schools, and much more, as well as providing disaster relief and empowering women, youth and poverty alleviation. This donation will be allocated according to a well-devised plan throughout the coming years. It will be based on a strategy that is supervised and managed by a board of trustees headed by me to ensure that it will be used after my death for humanitarian projects and initiatives.”
Prince Alwaleed has supported philanthropy for more than 35 years, donating $3.5 billion thus far through the Alwaleed Philanthropies. One of the leading philanthropic foundations in the Arab world, the Alwaleed Philanthropies serves millions of people across the globe. Prince Alwaleed has formed a board of trustees to oversee this gift, which will focus on finding impactful solutions to some of the most pressing humanitarian issues of our time, without regard to gender, race or religious affiliation.
“Philanthropy is a personal responsibility, which I embarked upon more than three decades ago and is an intrinsic part of my Islamic faith. With this pledge, I am honouring my life-long commitment to what matters most — helping to build a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable world for generations to come,” he said.
Through this historic gift, the Alwaleed Philanthropies, which have supported thousands of projects in more than 92 countries worldwide, will continue to partner with a range of philanthropic, government and educational organisations to support impactful programs. The Alwaleed Philanthropies believe that the answers to many of today’s most pressing global issues lie in the hands of youth. They are the leaders of tomorrow.
The Alwaleed Philanthropies have partnered with a wide range of global institutions, including The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Carter Center, and the Weill Cornell Medical College, to strengthen health care and control epidemics. On this occasion, Mr. Bill Gates, Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, commented: “Prince Alwaleed’s generous commitment promises to significantly extend the great work that his foundation is already doing. His gift is an inspiration to all of us working in philanthropy around the world.”
In Saudi Arabia, they have worked on promoting more sustainable communities, through the Housing Initiative, which allows hundreds of thousands of eligible Saudi citizens to receive housing units, or through the Lighting Up Villages in Saudi Arabia Initiative.
Alwaleed Philanthropies also works in the area of women and youth empowerment, by supporting women in the local government field, for example, by providing courses for women to run for Municipal Council elections. Moreover, through the Turquoise Mountain organisation, Alwaleed Philanthropies had helped Afghani women by advocating literacy.
As disaster relief providers, Alwaleed Philanthropies has extended a helping hand in many countries that have suffered from earthquakes and floods, like in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Nepal and Turkey, in addition to supporting those who had been affected by the tsunami.
Building bridges between cultures and civilizations is one of the main areas of focus of Alwaleed Philanthropies. Its work supports six existing centers in the most prominent international universities (Georgetown, Harvard, Edinburgh, Cambridge and the American University of Beirut and the American University in Cairo) in addition to the Islamic Hall at the Louvre in Paris.
Prince Alwaleed’s passion for humanitarian work, sustainability and change plays a vital role in the creation, mission and vision of Alwaleed Philanthropies. The wide spectrum of global philanthropic projects undertaken by the Alwaleed Philanthropies are distinguished by their dedication to “building bridges for a better world” — without boundaries — and, regardless of gender, race, or religion.
Press release