Sultan bin Mohammed Al Kabeer (1954 ) was a Saudi prince and businessman. He was one of the founders of

Almarai Almarai Company () is a Saudi multinational dairy company which is listed on the Tadawul stock exchange. It specializes in food and beverage manufacturing and distribution. The company's main offices are located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Hist ...

which is the largest vertically integrated dairy foods company in the world. Prince Sultan was a great-nephew of

King Abdulaziz 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'', ...

, being the grandson of the King's sister Noura bint Abdul Rahman.

Early life and education

Prince Sultan belongs to the Al Kabeer branch of the Saudi royal family. This branch is the descendants of

Saud bin Faisal bin Turki 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 fac ...

Emir of Nejd The second Saudi state (), officially known as the Emirate of Najd, was a state that existed between 1824 and 1891 in the Najd region of what is now Saudi Arabia. Saudi rule was restored to central (Najd) and Eastern Arabia after the first Saud ...

, who was an uncle of King Abdulaziz, the founder of the present

Kingdom 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 ...

. As such, the Al Kabeer family is a

cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of the royal family and are not eligible to succeed to the throne. Saud bin Faisal was the great-great-grandfather of Prince Sultan. Prince Sultan was born in 1954 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 ...

. His father is Mohammed bin Saud Al Kabeer who was the son of Saud Al Kabeer and Noura bint Abdul Rahman Al Saud, sister of King Abdulaziz. He was a graduate of

King Saud University King Saud University (KSU, ) is a public university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1957 by King Saud bin Abdulalziz to address the country's skilled worker shortage, it is the first university in Saudi Arabia. It was known as Riyadh U ...

having a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in commerce and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

Career

Prince Sultan founded the

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

company, Almarai, in 1977, and subsequently made it public in 2005 whilst retaining shares of nearly 29%. He also founded Masstock Saudia which was a joint agricultural company with an Irish company in the 1980s. He was the chairman of the board of Arabian shield - Bahrain insurance company and Arabian Union for Cement Industries, and served as vice president and managing director of Yamama Saudi Cement. He was one of the founders of Zain Saudi Telecom, Al Salam Bank (Bahrain), Dana Gas based in UAE. In March 2020 Prince Sultan resigned from his post as chairman of the board of directors of Almarai Company. He was succeeded by his son Nayef bin Sultan Al Kabeer.

Arrest

On 4 November 2017, Prince Sultan was arrested but not detained. This was following a corruption crackdown conducted by a new royal anti-corruption committee. In late December 2017 Prince Sultan's sons Nayef and Saud were detained in Riyadh due to their alleged involvement in a protest over the government's decision to stop paying their utility bills.

Wealth and influence

Prince Sultan was the third person in the ''Forbes Middle Easts billionaire ranking in 2017, and ''

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 ...

'' estimated his net worth at US$3.8 billion. As of January 2018 it listed him the third richest person in Saudi Arabia. However, in March 2018 he was removed from the list due to the fact that it was not clear whether or not he still had the assets. Gulf Business listed him as the 38th most powerful Arab in 2019. He was also given as one of the most powerful people in Saudi Arabia in the annual Arabian Business Saudi Power List in 2020.

Horse breeding

Prince Sultan kept a stud farm outside Riyadh, Nofa Equestrian Resort, where he trained around 100 horses. Total Impact, a racehorse which was imported by Sultan from Chile and trained by Laura de Seroux, won the grade-1

Hollywood Gold Cup The Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes is a Grade II American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles on the dirt held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in May. The race currently offers a purse of $200,000 ...

in 2004. In 2015 Prince Sultan bought Spring At Last, a grade-1 winning race horse.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kabeer, Sultan bin Mohammed 1954 births 2024 deaths 20th-century Saudi Arabian businesspeople 21st-century Saudi Arabian businesspeople King Saud University alumni Saudi Arabian billionaires Saudi Arabian corporate directors Princes of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabian racehorse owners and breeders Saudi Arabian prisoners and detainees Businesspeople from Riyadh