Muhammad bin Awad bin Ladin (; – 3 September 1967) was a Yemeni-born Saudi billionaire business magnate working primarily in the

construction industry 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 ...

. He founded what is today 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 ...

and became the wealthiest non-royal Saudi, establishing the wealth and prestige of the bin Ladin family. He is the father 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 ...

, who is most known for planning 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 ...

Life

Muhammad bin Ladin was born on the

Hadramawt Hadhramaut ( ; ) is a geographic region in the South Arabia, southern part of the Arabian Peninsula which includes the Yemeni Governorates of Yemen, governorates of Hadhramaut, Shabwah Governorate, Shabwah and Al Mahrah Governorate, Mahrah, D ...

coast of south

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 ...

to Awad, a Kindite Hadrami tribesman from al-Rubat, a village in Wadi Doan. His year of birth is often given as 1905, although this is an approximation at best, as no central government had solidified control over the area at the time and no birth registry existed. Muhammad's paternal grandfather was Abud, the son of Ali, one of four brothers (the others being Ahmad, Mansur, and Zayd) from whom the four Banu Laden clans trace their ancestry. Poor and uneducated, his family emigrated to

Tihamah Tihamah or Tihama ( ') is the Red Sea coastal plain of the Arabian Peninsula from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Bab el Mandeb. Etymology Tihāmat is the Proto-Semitic language's term for 'sea'. Tiamat (or Tehom, in masculine form) was the ancient M ...

before

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 ...

. According to Eric Margolis, he initially worked as a porter 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 ...

, like many other impoverished Yemenite emigrants of that time. However,

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive and liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, includ ...

reports that his first job was as a bricklayer with

Aramco Saudi Aramco ( ') or Aramco (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a majority state-owned petroleum and natural gas company that is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. , it is the fourth- lar ...

. In 1931, he started his own construction business and after coming to the attention of

Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted as 1876, although a few sources give it as 1880. According to British author Robert Lacey's book ''The Kingdom'', ...

, the first monarch of

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 ...

, he eventually achieved such success that his family became known as "the wealthiest non-royal family in the kingdom." Muhammad bin Ladin strategically built strong ties with the Saudi royal family by actively participating in King

Abdel Aziz Abd al-Aziz (, DMG: ''ʽAbd al-ʽAzīz''), frequently also transliterated Abdul-Aziz, is a male Arabic Muslim given name and, in modern usage, surname. It is built from the words '' ʽAbd'', the Arabic definite article and '' ʽAzīz'' "Almighty". ...

's public meetings. Recognizing the aging king's mobility challenges, Muhammad took the initiative to construct a ramp at the palace in

, allowing the monarch to easily move between the floors in his car. Muhammad's remarkable financial success was ascribed to a shrewd business sense,

fealty An oath of fealty, from the Latin (faithfulness), is a pledge of allegiance of one person to another. Definition In medieval Europe, the swearing of fealty took the form of an oath made by a vassal, or subordinate, to his lord. "Fealty" also r ...

to Saudi Arabia's rulers, reliability, and a willingness to offer the lowest bid on construction contracts. By undercutting local construction firms, he had become a multi-millionaire by the 1940s. He cultivated a sizable workforce involved in projects across Saudi Arabia. In 1948, Muhammad scored a major breakthrough by securing a commission to build a palace for the future

King Saud Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (; 15 January 1902 – 23 February 1969) was King of Saudi Arabia from 9 November 1953 until his abdication on 2 November 1964. During his reign, he served as Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 1953 to 1954 a ...

. In the early 1950s, when a British company withdrew from a contract to construct a crucial road from Jeddah to

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, ...

, Muhammad stepped in to fill the void, solidifying his role as a key player in Saudi Arabia's construction landscape. As the "royal builder," Muhammad bin Ladin maintained close relationships with the royal family, particularly Prince Faisal of Saudi Arabia. In 1964, Prince Faisal deposed his half-brother,

, and began rebuilding the kingdom after the wasteful excesses of the Saud era. King Faisal accepted Muhammad bin Ladin's offer of financial assistance to support the national economy and as a reward, King Faisal issued a royal decree awarding all future construction projects to Muhammad bin Ladin's construction company. As a result, bin Laden's company eventually amassed assets in excess of US$5 billion. He made his initial fortune from exclusive rights to all mosque and other religious building construction in Saudi Arabia and several other Arab countries. Until 1967, Muhammad bin Ladin held exclusive responsibility for 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 ...

. Despite his royal associations and great wealth, Muhammad bin Ladin lived a relatively simple and devout life, demanding that his children observe a strict religious and moral code. In his later years, the bin Laden corporate network diversified its activities beyond construction, largely in foreign investment and oil.

Religion

He was reportedly raised as a

Wahhabi Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to other ...

Muslim, noted for his religious devotion and boasted that he could fly by private helicopter to pray at

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 ...

and

al-Aqsa Al-Aqsa (; ) or al-Masjid al-Aqṣā () and also is the compound of Islamic religious buildings that sit atop the Temple Mount, also known as the Haram al-Sharif, in the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Dome of the Rock, many mosques and ...

(in

) in the same day.

Wives and children

He fathered a total of 52 children by 22 wives. He had three wives who mostly remained the same, but would divorce and frequently change his fourth wife. This practice kept within the bounds of Islamic guidance of polygyny, which permits men to have up to four wives at one time. His widely-known son is the founder 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 ...

Osama bin Ladin 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 supported ...

(), although the two seldom saw each other and only once had a one-on-one meeting together. Osama's mother, Hamida al-Attas, () was born and raised in Syria before marrying Muhammad bin Ladin and moving to Saudi Arabia. She was non-traditional, known more for wearing

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. It is privately owned by French brothers, Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, through the holding company Chanel Limited, established in 2018 and headquarte ...

trouser suits rather than the veiled, conservative attire typical of Saudi women. She was neither Wahhabi nor Saudi, and her foreign origin diminished her status within the conservative Saudi family where she became known as "the slave wife". According to Carmen bin Ladin, Muhammad was planning to wed a 23rd wife the night he died, and was heading there when his plane crashed.

Death

On 3 September 1967, Muhammad bin Ladin was killed when his airplane, a

Beechcraft Beechcraft is an American brand of civil aviation and Military aircraft, military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation, an American manufacture ...

G18S, crashed during landing in Usran, 'Asir Province, in southwest Saudi Arabia. Following the crash, Muhammad's body was carefully retrieved and prepared for burial. At dawn the next day, a somber procession conveyed his body from the palace to a family plot in a nearby cemetery. The news of his passing brought profound sadness, as Muhammad was highly esteemed both within the bin Ladin family and amongst the people of

. The funeral procession drew an immense crowd, with nearly ten thousand people lining the route to the cemetery. King

Faisal Faisal, Faisel, Fayçal or Faysal () is an Arabic given name. Faisal, Fayçal or Faysal may also refer to: People * King Faisal (disambiguation) ** Faisal I of Iraq and Syria (1885–1933), leader during the Arab Revolt ** Faisal II of Iraq (19 ...

, deeply affected by the loss, was a close friend of Muhammad. After the funeral, King Faisal met with the bin Ladin family and informed the children that he was placing them under royal protection. He assured them that they would receive their fair share of the inheritance when they reached the age of 21. With the loss of Muhammad as their unifying figure, Muhammad's many wives, ex-wives, and children began to disperse to different parts of the kingdom, although they still maintained their family connection with the

. Muhammad's eldest son, Salem bin Ladin, took over the family business and eventually expanded it into an international company.

Legacy

Following Muhammad bin Ladin's death, his eldest sons, principally

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 ...

, renamed the organization, "Binladen Brothers for Contracting and Industry" and continued to expand their late father's company until it employed more than 40,000 people. Salem bin Laden died in the United States in 1988 when his ultralight aircraft collided with power lines. Many members of the bin Ladin family have moved away from Saudi Arabia and settled in Europe and the US. In May 1990, the company was renamed the Saudi Binladin Group under the leadership of

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 ...

. The

as it is now known, is involved in construction, engineering, manufacturing, and telecommunications. Construction projects include airports, housing complexes, tunnels, and bridges. The group is also involved in city planning and real estate development. The Saudi Binladin Group is Egypt's largest private foreign company and negotiated with the Lebanese government to rebuild part of central Beirut under a US $50 million contract. In 2009, the bin Ladin family was listed as the 5th wealthiest Saudi family by

Forbes magazine ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The c ...

, with a reported net worth of $7 billion. Muhammad bin Ladin is portrayed by

Tim Seyfi Timur Seyfettin Ölmez (born 10 August 1971) better known as Tim Seyfi, is a Turkish-German actor. In 2017 he played his first leading role as Commissioner Pascha in a TV series of the same name. Filmography Film Television Awards In the 200 ...

in the 2019

OCS OCS or Ocs may refer to: Places * Öcs, a village in Veszprém county, Hungary * Outer Continental Shelf, a maritime federal land zone beyond the jurisdiction of the United States Music * Ocean Colour Scene, an English rock group * Thee Oh Se ...

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

miniseries '' The Spy''.

Descendants

Muhammad bin Ladin's sons: # Salem bin Ladin (1946–1988) ''married'' Caroline Carey # Ali bin Ladin # Thabet bin Ladin (d. 2009) # Mahrous bin Ladin # Hassan bin Ladin #

# Khalid bin Ladin #

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 Dufour (born 1954) ## Wafah Dufour (born 1978) ## Najia Dufour (born 1979) ## Noor Dufour (born 1987) # Ghalib bin Ladin # Yahya bin Ladin # Abd al-Aziz bin Ladin # Isa bin Ladin # Tarek bin Ladin # Ahmed bin Ladin # Ibrahim bin Ladin # Shafiq bin Ladin #

(1957–2011) ''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 # Haydar bin Ladin # Saad bin Ladin # Abdullah bin Ladin # Yasser bin Ladin # Muhammad bin Ladin (born 1967)