The bin Laden family (), also spelled bin Ladin, is a wealthy
Hadhrami family intimately connected with the innermost circles of the
Saudi royal family
The House of Saud ( ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi State, (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling fa ...
. It is the namesake and controlling shareholder of the
Saudi Binladin Group
Saudi Binladin Group (SBG; ), known as Binladin Group Global Holding Company since 2019, is a multinational construction conglomerate headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In 2011, the Saudi Binladin Group signed a US$1.23 billion contractual ...
, a multinational construction firm. Following the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
, the family became the subject of media attention and scrutiny due to the activities of
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...
, the former head of
al-Qaeda
, image = Flag of Jihad.svg
, caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions
, founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden
, leaders = {{Plainlist,
* Osama bin Lad ...
, even though they publicly disowned him in 1994.
Beginnings
The family traces its origins to Awad bin Laden from the village of al-Rubat, in the Wadi Doan of the
Tarim Valley,
Hadramout governorate,
Yemen
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
. Awad's son was
Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (1908-1967). Mohammed bin Laden was a native of the
Hadhramaut
Hadhramaut ( ; ) is a geographic region in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula which includes the Yemeni governorates of Hadhramaut, Shabwah and Mahrah, Dhofar in southwestern Oman, and Sharurah in the Najran Province of Saudi A ...
region in eastern
Yemen
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
, and, like many other
Hadharem
The Hadharem (; singular: Hadhrami, ) are an Arabic-speaking ethnographic group indigenous to the Hadhramaut region in the Arabian Peninsula, which is part of modern-day Yemen. The spoken language of the Hadharem is Hadhrami Arabic. Among the t ...
, emigrated to
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
prior to
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. He set up a construction company and came to
Abdul Aziz ibn Saud's attention through
construction project
Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...
s, later being awarded contracts for major renovations in
Mecca
Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
. He made his initial fortune from exclusive rights to construct all mosques and other religious buildings not only in Saudi Arabia, but as far as
Ibn Saud's influence reached. Until his death,
Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden had exclusive control over restorations at the
Jami Al-Aqsa in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
. Soon, the bin Laden corporate network extended far beyond just construction sites.
Mohammed's special intimacy with the monarchy was inherited by the younger bin Laden generation. Mohammed's sons attended
Victoria College, Alexandria
Victoria College, Alexandria, () is an Egyptian private school, operating under the supervision of Ministry of Education, located in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. It was founded in 1902.
The school was founded under the impetus of the recently ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
. Their schoolmates included King
Hussein of Jordan
Hussein bin Talal (14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 1952 until Death and state funeral of King Hussein, his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemites, Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Hu ...
, Zaid Al Rifai, the
Kashoggi
Jamal Ahmad Hamza Khashoggi (13 October 1958 – 2 October 2018) was a Saudi journalist, Saudi dissidents, dissident, author, columnist for ''Middle East Eye'' and ''The Washington Post'', and a general manager and editor-in-chief of Al-Arab New ...
brothers (whose father was one of the king's physicians),
Kamal Adham
Kamal Adham (; 1929 – 29 October 1999) was a Saudi businessman and the director general of Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah from 1965 to 1979. He served as a royal counsellor to both King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz, King Faisal and King Khalid.
Early li ...
(who ran the
General Intelligence Directorate under
King Faisal), present-day contractors Mohammed Al Attas, Fahd Shobokshi, Ghassan Sakr, and actor
Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif (, ; born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub ; 10 April 1932 – 10 July 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the 1950s. He is bes ...
.
When Mohammed bin Laden died in 1967, his son
Salem bin Laden
Salem bin Laden () (4 January 1946 – 29 May 1988) was a Saudi Arabian investor and businessman.
Life
Salem was the eldest son of Muhammad bin Laden, the founder of the Saudi Binladin Group, and a half-brother of the militant jihadist Osama b ...
took over the family enterprises, until his own accidental death in 1988.
Family members
American and European intelligence officials estimate that all the relatives of the family may number as many as 600. In 1994, the bin Laden family disowned
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...
, and the Saudi government revoked his passport.
[bin Laden, Osama.](_blank)
''The History Channel website''. Retrieved on 8 April 2007. The Saudi government also stripped Osama of his
citizenship
Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state.
Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...
for publicly speaking out against the government for permitting U.S. troops to be based in Saudi Arabia in preparation for the 1991
Gulf War
, combatant2 =
, commander1 =
, commander2 =
, strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems
, page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
.
The groupings of the bin Laden family, based on the nationalities of the wives, include the most prominent "
Saudi
Saudi or Saudi Arabian may refer to:
* Saudi Arabia
* Saudis, people from Saudi Arabia
* Saudi culture, the culture of Saudi Arabia
* House of Saud, the ruling family of Saudi Arabia
See also
*Saud (disambiguation)
The House of Saud
The H ...
group", a "
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
n group", a "
Lebanese group", and an "
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
ian group". The Egyptian group employs 40,000 people, most likely the country's largest private foreign investor.
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...
was born the only son of Muhammed bin Laden's tenth wife,
Hamida al-Attas,
who was of Syrian origin, making Osama a member of the Syrian group.
First generation
*
Muhammed bin Awad bin Laden (1908–1967) was the family patriarch and founder; before World War I, Muhammed, originally poor and uneducated, emigrated from
Hadhramaut
Hadhramaut ( ; ) is a geographic region in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula which includes the Yemeni governorates of Hadhramaut, Shabwah and Mahrah, Dhofar in southwestern Oman, and Sharurah in the Najran Province of Saudi A ...
, on the south coast of Yemen, to the
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...
port of
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...
, where he began to work as a porter. Starting his own business in 1930, Muhammed built his fortune as a building contractor for the Saudi royal family during the 1950s. Married 22 times, with 54 children, his 17th child was
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...
, who was the son of Hamida al-Attas (born in Syria), Muhammed’s tenth wife. The couple divorced soon after Osama was born, and Hamida was given in marriage to one of the executives of Muhammed's company around 1958.
In 1967, Muhammed was killed in an airplane crash in Saudi Arabia when his pilot misjudged a landing.
* Muhammad al-Attas is Osama's stepfather in whose household Osama was raised at Jeddah, and worked at the bin Laden company. The couple had four children in addition to Osama: three boys and a girl, Fatima Mohammed al-Attas.
*Abdallah bin Laden is the brother of Mohammed and the uncle of Osama; headed the
Saudi Binladin Group
Saudi Binladin Group (SBG; ), known as Binladin Group Global Holding Company since 2019, is a multinational construction conglomerate headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In 2011, the Saudi Binladin Group signed a US$1.23 billion contractual ...
(SBG); died in Medina, March 21, 2002, at age 75. He also had over 60 children and was married 6 times.
Second generation
*
Salem bin Laden
Salem bin Laden () (4 January 1946 – 29 May 1988) was a Saudi Arabian investor and businessman.
Life
Salem was the eldest son of Muhammad bin Laden, the founder of the Saudi Binladin Group, and a half-brother of the militant jihadist Osama b ...
(1946–1988) attended
Millfield
Millfield is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935.
Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding ...
, the English boarding school. He took over the family empire in 1967 upon the death of his father; also an amateur rock guitarist in the 1970s. He married an English art student, Caroline Carey, whose half-brother, Ambrose, is the son of the
Marquess of Queensberry
Marquess of Queensberry is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The title has been held since its creation in 1682 by a member of the Douglas family. The Marquesses also held the title of Duke of Queensberry from 1684 to 1810, when it was i ...
. Salem died outside
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
, Texas in 1988, when an experimental
ultralight
Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with aile ...
plane that he was flying got tangled in power lines.
*
Tarek bin Laden
Tarek bin Mohammed bin 'Awad bin Laden (; born 1947) is the half-brother of Osama bin Laden, and a member of the Saudi Arabia business community. He was once called "the personification of the dichotomy (conservatism and change) of Saudi Arabia." ...
(born 1947); once called "the personification of the dichotomy (conservatism and change) of Saudi Arabia".
*
Bakr bin Laden
Bakr bin Mohammed bin 'Awad bin Laden (; born 1946) is the former chairman of the Jeddah-based Saudi Binladin Group and the former largest shareholder in the group, with a 23.58% holding. He is the son of the family's patriarch, Mohammed bin Awa ...
(born 1946) succeeded Salem as the chairman of the
Saudi Binladin Group
Saudi Binladin Group (SBG; ), known as Binladin Group Global Holding Company since 2019, is a multinational construction conglomerate headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In 2011, the Saudi Binladin Group signed a US$1.23 billion contractual ...
; major power broker in
Jeddah
Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...
.
* Hassan bin Laden, senior vice president of the SBG.
* Yehia bin Laden, also active in the SBG; in 2001, owned 16 percent of
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, MA-based
Hybridon, Inc.
* Mahrous bin Laden, implicated in the
Grand Mosque Seizure carried out by dissidents against the Saudi ruling family at the
Masjid al-Haram
Masjid al-Haram (), also known as the Sacred Mosque or the Great Mosque of Mecca, is considered to be the most significant mosque in Islam. It encloses the vicinity of the Kaaba in Mecca, in the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia. It is among the ...
in
Makkah
Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above sea level. Its metropo ...
on November 20, 1979. This event shook the Muslim world with the ensuing violence and the killing of hundreds at the holiest of Islamic sites. Trucks owned by the family were reported to have been used to smuggle arms into the tightly controlled city. The bin Laden connection was through the son of a Sultan of Yemen who had been radicalized by Syrian members of the
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...
. Mahrous was arrested for a time, but was not beheaded by the Saudi government alongside 63 others who were, with their public executions broadcast live on Saudi television. Later exonerated, he joined the family business and became manager of the
Medina
Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...
branch of the bin Laden enterprises and a member of the board.
*
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...
(born 1957 in Saudi Arabia,
died
Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sho ...
May 2, 2011, in Pakistan) was a terrorist who co-founded the terrorism group
Al-Qaeda
, image = Flag of Jihad.svg
, caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions
, founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden
, leaders = {{Plainlist,
* Osama bin Lad ...
, which was responsible for the attacks such as the
1998 United States embassy bombings
The 1998 United States embassy bombings were attacks that occurred on August 7, 1998. More than 220 people were killed in two nearly simultaneous car bomb, truck bomb explosions in two East African capital cities, one at the Embassy of the Uni ...
, the
2002 Bali bombings
The 2002 Bali bombings were a series of terrorist attacks on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attacks killed 202 people (including 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, 23 Britons, and people ...
, and most infamously, the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
. His death was announced on May 2, 2011. He was one of the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
's
Most Wanted Terrorists.
*
Najwa Ghanem
Najwa Ghanem (; born 1958) is a Syrian woman who was the first wife and first cousin of Osama bin Laden, being the daughter of his mother's brother. She is also known as '' Umm Abdallah'' (mother of Abdallah).
Biography
Najwa was born to Ibra ...
(born 1958), became the first wife of Osama in 1974. A first cousin, she was his mother's niece. She co-authored ''Growing Up bin Laden'' with her son Omar.
* Shaikha bint Laden (born 1960), half-sister of Osama, married
Mohammed Jamal Khalifa
Mohammed Jamal Khalifa ()
(1 February 1957 – 31 January 2007) was a Saudi people, Saudi businessman from Jeddah who married one of Osama bin Laden's sisters. He was accused of funding terror plots and groups in the Philippines in the 1990s wh ...
. He was the founder of
Benevolence International Foundation
The Benevolence International Foundation (BIF; Benevolence International Fund in Canada), was a purported nonprofit charitable trust based in Saudi Arabia. It was determined to be a front for terrorist group Al-Qaeda and was banned by the United ...
, in the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
in 1988. During this period, Khalifa is believed to have received large donations of cash from outside the country, some of which, intelligence officials suspect, may have been funneled to him by
Al-Qaeda
, image = Flag of Jihad.svg
, caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions
, founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden
, leaders = {{Plainlist,
* Osama bin Lad ...
. He also ran the International Relations and Information Centre, by which embezzled money was funneled to
Ramzi Yousef
Ramzi Ahmed Yousef (; born 27 April 1968) is a Pakistani convicted terrorist who was one of the main perpetrators and the mastermind behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the bombing of Philippine Airlines Flight 434; he was also a co- ...
. In 1993, his business cards were found in the
apartment that Yousef stayed in while he was involved with the
1993 World Trade Centre bombing plot. Khalifa was first arrested on December 14, 1994, in
Mountain View, California
Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the population was 82,376 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.
Mountain V ...
, placed in solitary confinement, and the contents of his luggage were logged and edited. In 1995, Khalifa was arrested in San Francisco on charges of violating United States immigration laws. He was detained while the Justice Department tried but failed to gather enough information to charge him in connection with suspected terrorist activities. Eventually, he was deported on May 5, 1995, to
Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
, which had an outstanding warrant for him on charges stemming from the bombing of movie theaters in
Amman
Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...
in 1994, for which he had been under a possible death sentence, convicted in absentia. His conviction was later overturned in a new trial, which resulted in an acquittal. In 1996, Khalifa returned to Saudi Arabia, where he was again arrested after 9/11, but later released. He lived in Saudi Arabia and was assassinated in 2007 in
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
.
*
Yeslam bin Ladin
Yeslam bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Ladin (; born October 19, 1950) better known as Yeslam bin Ladin, also written Yeslam Binladin, as he prefers to spell it, is a businessman and the half-brother of the deceased al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden.
F ...
(born 1950) studied in the 1970s at the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
, in Los Angeles; settled in
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
; became a Swiss citizen in 2001;
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
-based head of the family's European holding company, the
Saudi Investment Company; was scrutinized by Swiss and American investigators because of a financial stake he has in a Swiss aviation firm; he has claimed to not have had contact with Osama since 1981
* Abdullah bin Laden (born 1965); a graduate of
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
, Abdullah lived in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...
on 9/11, and was the only bin Laden relative to remain in the United States, staying in Boston for almost a month following the attacks.
* Shafig bin Laden, the half-brother of Osama, was a guest of honour at the
Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group Inc. is an American multinational company with operations in private equity, alternative asset management and financial services. As of 2023, the company had $426 billion of assets under management.
Carlyle specializes in ...
's Washington conference at the
Ritz-Carlton Hotel
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational corporation, multinational company that operates the Hotel#Luxury, luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 conference and resort hotels, luxury hotels an ...
on September 11, 2001, and was among the 13 members of the family to leave the United States on September 19, 2001, aboard flight N521DB.
Third generation
*
Wafah Dufour (born 1975), daughter of
Yeslam bin Laden, is an American model and aspiring singer-songwriter. She spent the early part of her life in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Dufour, her little sisters Najia (1979) and Noor (1987), her mother (1954) and her father (1950) then moved to
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
, Switzerland. In 1988, her parents separated. She earned a law diploma at Geneva Law School (Switzerland) and later a master's degree from
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City.
The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...
in the United States. She lived in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
until around the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks, but was staying in Geneva for a summer holiday at the time of the attacks.
* Abdullah Osama bin Laden (born 1976), son of Osama and Najwa. Although, as the eldest son his father originally showed him some favor, taking him into Afghanistan in 1984 when he was only eight, Abdullah later became disgusted with life in Sudan, moved back to Jiddah to marry his first cousin, refused to rejoin his father in Sudan, except for a brief, unpleasant visit, and never saw or communicated with his father again after 1995. Abdullah resides in Jiddah, where he runs his own firm, called Fame Advertising;
he has been closely watched by the Saudi government, which restricted his travel from the kingdom after 1996, at least for a time; he stated that the media have misrepresented his father.
*Abdul Rahman bin Laden (born 1979), the second son of Osama and Najwa. As a child he was born with
hydrocephalus
Hydrocephalus is a condition in which cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) builds up within the brain, which can cause pressure to increase in the skull. Symptoms may vary according to age. Headaches and double vision are common. Elderly adults with n ...
, and his father took him to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
for medical treatment. However, he refused to allow British surgeons to operate on the boy and tried to treat him himself using a folk remedy of
honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...
. He ended up having an
intellectual disability
Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability (in the United Kingdom), and formerly mental retardation (in the United States), Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010).Archive is a generalized neurodevelopmental ...
and
autism
Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...
.
As an adult he moved to Syria with his mother in 2011.
*
Saad bin Laden
(; 19792009), better known as Saad bin Laden, was one of Osama bin Laden's sons. While it was alleged by western sources that he was active in al-Qaeda, and was being groomed to be his heir apparent, these claims have been thoroughly debunked ...
(1979–2009) son of Osama and Najwa. An irrepressible chatterbox who sometimes blurted out intimate personal information, Saad was somewhat autistic, impulsive, unrestrained, anxious, easily confused, and thus completely unfit for clandestine action. With all of Osama's other children, Saad accompanied Osama on his exile to Sudan from 1991 to 1996, and then to Afghanistan. In Sudan in 1998, he married Wafa', a Sudanese woman born of Yemeni parents. In September 2001, Saad was sent away by his father with his father's other three wives and the younger children. In March 2002, they made their way into Iran at Zabol. As stated by Cathy Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy, “As the oldest son present, Saad was nominally head of the Bin Laden family party, but given his mental issues his aunt, Osama’s wife Khairiah, took charge.” Saad was erroneously blamed for the bombing of a
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
n synagogue on April 11, 2002 and then implicated in the May 12, 2003, suicide bombing in
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...
, and the
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
bombing four days later, all of which was impossible as he was neither personally able to order or command anything, and he was also held in Iran, mostly in prison-like conditions, for almost six and a half years, from March 2002 to August 2008.
Saad escaped
from Iran in August 2008
and fled to Pakistan,
where he wandered haplessly for eleven months hoping to find his father, who, however, did not want him to come, for fear he would reveal his hiding place. Saad was later killed incidentally, without being specifically targeted, in a U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan on 17 July 2009.
Al-Qaeda leader
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri (; 19 June 195131 July 2022) was an Egyptian-born pan-Islamism, pan-Islamist militant and physician who served as the second general emir of al-Qaeda from June 2011 until Killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri, his dea ...
confirmed Saad's death in a videotape three years later.
*
Omar bin Laden
Omar bin Osama bin Mohammed bin 'Awad bin Laden (, ''ʿUmar bin ʾUsāmah bin Muḥammad bin ʿAwaḍ bin Lādin''; born March 1, 1981), better known as Omar bin Laden, is a Saudi artist, author, cultural ambassador, and businessman, and fourth- ...
(born 1981) son of Osama and Najwa; Omar accompanied Osama on his exile to Sudan from 1991 to 1996, and then to Afghanistan. He returned to Saudi Arabia after an apparent falling-out with his father over Omar's disagreement with violence. For a while, Omar ran his own company in Jeddah as a contractor. Omar has one son, Ahmed, by his ex-wife, whom he had divorced 3 times by 2006. In September 2006, he married Zaina and they are now said to be living in a secret location in Qatar. He is now reported to be living in Normandie, France, with his wife.
* Mohammad bin Osama bin Laden (born 1983), the son of Osama and Najwa, married the daughter of al-Qaeda leader
Mohammed Atef
Mohammed Atef (; born Sobhi Abd Al Aziz Mohamed El Gohary Abu Sitta, also known as Abu Hafs al-Masri and al-Khabir; 1944 – November 2001) was an Egyptian militant and prominent military chief of al-Qaeda, and a deputy of Osama bin Laden, althou ...
in January 2001, at
Kandahar, Afghanistan, with footage broadcast by
Al-Jazeera
Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pr ...
, where three of Osama's step-siblings and Osama's mother were in attendance.
*
Hamza bin Laden
Hamza bin Laden (9 May 19892017/2019) was a Saudi-born key member of al-Qaeda. He was a son of Osama bin Laden. On 14 September 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he was killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation on the Durand Li ...
(1989–2017/2019), also the son of Osama, was groomed to be Osama's heir following Saad's death.
On February 28, 2019, the U.S. State Department offered a reward of up to $1 million for information on Hamza bin Laden's whereabouts. The announcement described Hamza bin Laden as a "key leader" of Al-Qaeda who had released audio and video messages on the internet calling for attacks on the U.S. and its western allies to avenge his father's killing. On July 31, 2019, it was reported that Hamza bin Laden was believed to have been killed in the first two years of the
first Trump administration
Donald Trump's first tenure as the president of the United States began on January 20, 2017, when Trump First inauguration of Donald Trump, was inaugurated as the List of presidents of the United States, 45th president, and ended on January ...
, which began on January 20, 2017. On September 14, 2019, U.S.
President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
confirmed that Hamza bin Laden was killed in a U.S. counter-terrorism operation in the
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
/
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
region. Other details were not disclosed.
* Khaled bin Laden, son of Osama, was killed along with his father at
Abbottabad
Abbottabad is a city in the Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in the country and 6th largest in the province by population, and serves as the headquarter of its namesake tehsil and district ...
, Pakistan, May 2, 2011.
* Abdul Aziz bin Laden, manages the SBG's Egyptian operations; ranked Number 2 in the 2006 UAE National Superstock Bike Championship.
* Mariah bin Laden, grandson of Osama. Not much else is known about him.
Family tree
Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden's sons
Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden's (1908–1967) known sons:
#
Salem bin Laden
Salem bin Laden () (4 January 1946 – 29 May 1988) was a Saudi Arabian investor and businessman.
Life
Salem was the eldest son of Muhammad bin Laden, the founder of the Saudi Binladin Group, and a half-brother of the militant jihadist Osama b ...
(d. 1988) ''married'' Caroline Carey
# Ali bin Laden
# Thabet bin Laden (d. 2009)
# Mahrous bin Laden
# Hassan bin Laden
#
Bakr bin Laden
Bakr bin Mohammed bin 'Awad bin Laden (; born 1946) is the former chairman of the Jeddah-based Saudi Binladin Group and the former largest shareholder in the group, with a 23.58% holding. He is the son of the family's patriarch, Mohammed bin Awa ...
# Khalid bin Laden
#
Yeslam bin Ladin
Yeslam bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Ladin (; born October 19, 1950) better known as Yeslam bin Ladin, also written Yeslam Binladin, as he prefers to spell it, is a businessman and the half-brother of the deceased al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden.
F ...
(born 1950) ''married''
Carmen bin Ladin (born 1954)
## Wafah Dufour (born 1978)
## Najia Dufour (born 1979)
## Noor Dufour (born 1987)
# Ghalib bin Laden
# Yahya bin Laden
# Omar bin Laden
# Abdul Aziz bin Laden
# Issa bin Laden
# Tarek bin Laden
# Ahmed bin Laden
# Ibrahim bin Laden
#
Shafiq bin Laden
#
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...
(d. 2011) ''married''
Najwa Ghanem
Najwa Ghanem (; born 1958) is a Syrian woman who was the first wife and first cousin of Osama bin Laden, being the daughter of his mother's brother. She is also known as '' Umm Abdallah'' (mother of Abdallah).
Biography
Najwa was born to Ibra ...
(born 1960)
# Khalil bin Ladin
# Saleh bin Ladin
# Haider bin Laden
# Saad bin Laden
# Abdullah bin Laden
# Yasser bin Laden
# Mohammad bin Laden (born 1967)
Osama bin Laden's children
Osama bin Laden's known children, from his respective wives, include:
* by ''Najwa Ghanem:''
**
Abdallah bin Laden (born 1976)
** Abdul Rahman bin Laden (born 1978)
**
Saad bin Laden
(; 19792009), better known as Saad bin Laden, was one of Osama bin Laden's sons. While it was alleged by western sources that he was active in al-Qaeda, and was being groomed to be his heir apparent, these claims have been thoroughly debunked ...
(1979–2009), killed in a drone strike in Pakistan's tribal region in 2009.
**
Omar bin Laden
Omar bin Osama bin Mohammed bin 'Awad bin Laden (, ''ʿUmar bin ʾUsāmah bin Muḥammad bin ʿAwaḍ bin Lādin''; born March 1, 1981), better known as Omar bin Laden, is a Saudi artist, author, cultural ambassador, and businessman, and fourth- ...
(born 1981), married Zaina Alsabah-Bin Laden 2006 to date.
** Osman bin Laden (born 1983)
** Mohammed bin Osama bin Laden (born 1985)
** Fatima bin Laden (born 1987)
** Iman bin Laden (born 1990)
** Laden "Bakr" bin Laden (born 1993)
** Ruqayya bin Laden (born 1997)
** Nour bin Laden (born 1999)
* by ''Khadijah Sharif:''
** Ali bin Laden (born 1986)
** Amer bin Laden (born 1990)
** Aisha bin Laden (born 1992)
* by ''Khairiah Sabar:''
**
Hamza bin Laden
Hamza bin Laden (9 May 19892017/2019) was a Saudi-born key member of al-Qaeda. He was a son of Osama bin Laden. On 14 September 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he was killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation on the Durand Li ...
(1989–between 2017 and 2019)
* by ''Siham Sabar:''
** Khadija bin Laden (1988–2007), died in childbirth in Pakistan's tribal region, according to al-Qaeda leader
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri (; 19 June 195131 July 2022) was an Egyptian-born pan-Islamism, pan-Islamist militant and physician who served as the second general emir of al-Qaeda from June 2011 until Killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri, his dea ...
.
** Khalid bin Laden (1989–2011), killed during the
Navy SEAL raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
** Miriam bin Laden (born 1990)
** Sumaiya bin Laden (born 1992)
* by ''Amal Ahmad Abd al-Fattah al-Sada'' (b. 1982)
** Safiyya (b. 2001)
** Asiya (b. 2003)
** Ibrahim (b. 2004)
** Zaynab (b. 2006)
** Husayn (b. 2008)
Bin Laden flights
Around 13 members of the bin Laden family, alongside their associates and bodyguards, flew out of the United States on a chartered flight with
Ryan International Airlines
Ryan International Airlines, Inc. was an American FAR 121 airline with domestic, flag, and supplemental authority.
Synopsis and history
Based at Chicago Rockford International Airport in Rockford, Illinois, the US Postal Service was once the ...
(Ryan International Flight 441), eight days after the
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
, according to a passenger manifest released on July 21, 2004.
The passenger list was obtained and released by Senator
Frank Lautenberg
Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (; January 23, 1924 June 3, 2013) was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as United States Senator from New Jersey from 1982 to 2001, and again from 2003 until his death in 2013. He was ori ...
(D-NJ), who acquired it from officials at Boston's
Logan International Airport
General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport — also known as Boston Logan International Airport — is an international airport located mostly in East Boston and partially in Winthrop, Massachusetts, United States. Covering , it has ...
. None of the flights, domestic or international, took place before the
reopening of national airspace on the morning of September 13 and the 9/11 Commission found "no evidence of a political intervention".
Among the passengers with the bin Laden surname were
Omar Awad bin Laden, who had lived with Osama's son Abdallah Awad bin Laden, who was involved in forming the U.S. branch of the
World Assembly of Muslim Youth
The World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) is an international Islamic educational organization whose stated purpose is to "preserve the identity of Muslim youth and help overcome the problems they face in modern society". Reportedly the world's ...
in Alexandria, and Shafig bin Laden, a half brother of Osama's who was reportedly attending the annual investor conference of the
Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group Inc. is an American multinational company with operations in private equity, alternative asset management and financial services. As of 2023, the company had $426 billion of assets under management.
Carlyle specializes in ...
.
Also on board was Akberali Moawalla, an official with the investment company run by
Yeslam bin Ladin
Yeslam bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Ladin (; born October 19, 1950) better known as Yeslam bin Ladin, also written Yeslam Binladin, as he prefers to spell it, is a businessman and the half-brother of the deceased al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden.
F ...
, another of Osama bin Laden's half brothers. Records show that a passenger, Kholoud Kurdi, lived in Northern Virginia with a bin Laden relative.
The bin Laden flights received fresh publicity when they were discussed in
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various Social issue, social, political, and economic topics. He first became publicly known for his award-winning debut ...
's controversial documentary ''
Fahrenheit 9/11
''Fahrenheit 9/11'' is a 2004 American documentary film directed, written by, and starring Michael Moore. The subjects of the film are the presidency of George W. Bush, the Iraq War, and the media's coverage of the war. In the film, Moore state ...
''.
The
9/11 Commission
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, commonly known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, to investigate all aspects of the September 11 attacks, the deadliest terrorist attack in world history ...
found that the "FBI conducted a satisfactory screening of Saudi nationals who left the United States on charter flights. The Saudi government was advised of and agreed to the FBI's requirements that passengers be identified and checked against various databases before the flights departed. The Federal Aviation Administration representative working in the FBI operations center made sure that the FBI was aware of the flights of Saudi nationals and was able to screen the passengers before they were allowed to depart."
References
Further reading
*
Bin Laden's daughter free to leave Tehran: Iran FM(AFP December 25, 2009)
{{Authority control
Business families
Saudi Arabian families