In a major reshuffle announced on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has named his son as heir to the throne. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has succeeded his cousin, former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, as successor to the crown.
A royal decree removed the 57-year-old crown prince, replacing him with the king’s 31-year-old son, who was previously deputy crown prince. The former crown prince was also dismissed from his post as interior minister.
The series of decrees issued by the Preceding the reorganization also included an amendment to Article V of the Government Statute of the Kingdom. The statute now stipulates that only the sons and grandsons of founding king Faisal Al Saud may be kings and crown princes.
The decree went on to say that King Salman’s decisions were endorsed by 31 out of 34 members of the Allegiance Council, which is made up of senior members of the ruling Al Saud family.
The Saudi Press Agency reports that King Salman is calling for a public declaration of allegiance to the new crown prince. Mohammed bin Nayef is said to have already sworn allegiance to his successor after the decree.
Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Facts in brief
- Mohammed Bin Salman was born in 1985. He is the eldest son of the king’s third wife, Fahda bint Falah bin Sultan.
- Mohammed has a law degree from King Saud University and is second in his class.
- In 2009 he became his father’s special adviser and in 2012 he was appointed head of the Crown Prince’s Court.
- In 2015, Mohammed Bin Salman became the youngest Defense Minister and was appointed Deputy Crown Prince in the same year.
- He is the man behind the new direction in relations between the House of Saud and US President Donald Trump, who made his first overseas trip to the Arab country and completed projects worth billions of dollars.
- In 2017 he replaced Mohammed bin Nayef as Crown Prince and was also appointed Deputy Prime Minister. He remains Secretary of Defense.
his ambitions
In April 2016, the then-Deputy Crown Prince launched “Vision for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” a plan to bring about historic economic and social change. This includes reducing the country’s dependence on oil and creating the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund in its country.
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He was responsible for reducing the huge subsidies residents received for gas, electricity and water. He also added taxes and VAT on luxury goods and sugary drinks. The reason for his action was to generate $100 billion in non-oil sales per year by 2020.
In terms of social change, he stated that he would support greater freedom for women who cannot drive or travel in the kingdom without permission from a male relative. He also intends to curb the activities of the Saudi Arabian religious police by prohibiting them from making arbitrary arrests.
Wife
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman married Sarabint Mashoor bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 2008. The two are cousins but the union is not uncommon, especially in the royal family where keeping things in the family is the preferred habit. The royal couple is blessed with four children – two boys and two girls. The two boys are named Prince Salman and Prince Mashhour while the girls are named Princess Fahda and Princess Nora.
Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Net Worth
It is not surprising that the crown prince is the one to own the most expensive house in the world, very wealthy even for Saudi royalty. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has personal wealth in excess of $3 billion. He invested $300 million to buy his stunning home in 2015. The lavish Chateau Louis XIV is a 54,000-square-foot palace near Versailles.
yacht
In keeping with the habits of the wealthyand the famous Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, not only has two yachts for relaxation. The first, which he bought in 2014 and named Pegasus VIII, was built by Royal Denship. She was one of the largest yachts in the world at the time. Designed for indoor use by Espen Oeino and Zuretti, some of the original features were a helipad that converts into a golf driving range, a large cinema and a partial deck with a dance floor, BBQ, hot tub and bars.
In 2015 Prince Mohammed bought Yuri Shefler’s Die Serene to complement Pegasus VIII and in October 2016 the two yachts were spotted in Vlissingen, the Netherlands, for what is believed to be a royal conversion.