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 , 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 ...

leader,

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 ...

Family background and early life

Yeslam bin Ladin is a Saudi national of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

n and

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 ...

i heritage (through his mother and father, respectively). He has 54 half-brothers and half-sisters, including 2 younger brothers (Ibrahim and Khalil), and a younger sister (Fawziyya), by the same mother as him, Rabab Haguigui. They used to live 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 ...

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 ...

. His father,

Mohammed bin Laden Muhammad bin Awad bin Ladin (; – 3 September 1967) was a Yemeni-born Saudi billionaire business magnate working primarily in the construction industry. He founded what is today the Saudi Binladin Group and became the wealthiest non-royal Saud ...

, died when he was 17 years old. He has lived 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 ...

since the mid-1980s, and became a

Swiss citizen The primary law governing nationality of Switzerland is the Federal Act on Swiss Citizenship, which came into force on 1 January 2018. Switzerland is a member state of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the Schengen Area. All Swiss ...

in April 2001. He speaks

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, English, French, and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

. As of 2020, he speaks Turkish. He is a

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

and is said to live a mainly

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

lifestyle. An ex-girlfriend of his from 1993 to 2001, Catherine Berclaz, is a Swiss interior decorator who wrote a book on their relationship, ''Yeslam, My Love: In the Heart of the Bin Laden Family''. He divorced his wife, Carmen bin Ladin, in January 2006, after 15 years of separation. Carmen bin Ladin wrote an autobiography, ''Inside the Kingdom'' (), which was a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Bestseller, recounting her life in the bin Ladin family and how she managed to keep her daughters in her custody. He has three daughters, Wafah Dufour, Najia, and Noor, and has reportedly not spoken to them for more than 15 years because of their western customs. Wafah (Dufour) bin Ladin earned a law degree from

Geneva University The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology unti ...

, and 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 New York. In 2006, she appeared in a men's magazine, ''GQ''. She has lived in New York and now resides in London. After attending high school in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, bin Ladin studied

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg () is a List of universities in Sweden, university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current List of universities in Sweden#Public universities, S ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, and business administration at

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

. On February 25, 2005, he was granted permission by the

Swiss government The Federal Council is the federal cabinet of the Swiss Confederation 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 ...

to use the name bin Ladin to brand products for his business including a perfume for men and women dubbed "Yeslam," and a second one for women "Passion," and other goods such as handbags, accessories, and watches under the name "Yeslam." Shops opened in

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 ...

(1), in

(2), 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 ...

(1), 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 ...

, in

Dammam Dammam (Arabic: الدمام ad-Dammām) is a city and governorate, and the capital of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 1,386,166 as of 2022, making it the country's fifth- ...

(1) (Saudi Arabia) and in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). He hires creators and chooses the creations, but he is not himself a designer. He has a pilot's license, like his father, and owns a

Learjet Learjet was a manufacturer of business jets for civilian and military use based in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Founded in the late 1950s by William Powell Lear as Swiss American Aviation Corporation, it became a subsidiary of Canadian Bomba ...

Current activities

Since 1980, Yeslam has been chairman of the

-based Saudi Investment Company (SICO), which represents his family's

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 ...

's international financial interests. His fortune was estimated to have peaked at 300 million

Swiss Franc The Swiss franc, or simply the franc, is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) iss ...

s, but is now thought to be below 100 million. He has been a partner of Pakistani businessman Akberali Moawalla.

References

External links

The World of Yeslam, with photo in MagazineYeslam Interview with photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bin Ladin, Yeslam 1950 births Living people University of Gothenburg alumni Saudi Arabian businesspeople Yeslam Saudi Arabian people of Yemeni descent Saudi Arabian emigrants to Switzerland Saudi Arabian people of Iranian descent Swiss businesspeople Swiss people of Iranian descent Swiss people of Yemeni descent fr:Yeslam Bin Ladin

Family background and early life

Current activities

References

Further reading

External links