Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan (Arabic: ياسر الرميان; born 18 February 1970) is a Saudi businessman who is governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He also chairs the state-owned petroleum company Saudi Aramco and Saudi Arabia's largest mining company Maaden.[1]
Yasir Al-Rumayyan | |
|---|---|
ياسر الرميان | |
 Al-Rumayyan in 2016 | |
| Chairman of Newcastle United F.C. | |
| Assumed office 19 November 2021 | |
| Owner of Newcastle United | |
| Assumed office 7 October 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Mike Ashley |
| Governor of Public Investment Fund | |
| Assumed office September 2015 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan 18 February 1970 Buraidah, Saudi Arabia |
| Political party |
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| Occupation | |
He is chairman of the English football club Newcastle United and manages LIV Golf.[1] He is chairman of Riyadh Air.[1] He is also involved in the construction of Neom, a controversial megaproject.[1]
Al-Rumayyan is a close ally of Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman. His early career was spent in finance.[1] When King Abdullah passed away in 2015 and power consolidated around Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Al-Rumayyan was elevated to positions of power, including chairman of PIF and placed on the board of Saudi Aramco.[1] After Bin Salman's 2017 purge of competing Saudi political elites, Al-Rumayyan and his associates filled the void and helped Bin Salman consolidate power.[1] Al-Rumayyan was involved in transferring assets seized from other Saudi elites into the PIF.[1]
Early life and education
editYasir Al-Rumayyan was born in Buraidah, Al-Qassim Province,[1] in 1970. His father was Saudi and his mother was Syrian.[1] He moved to Riyadh as a child where he attended Al-Abna'a.[1]
He graduated from King Faisal University in Alahsa in 1993 with a degree in accounting.[1] He did a three-month course at Harvard Business School in 2007.[1]
Career
editHe began his career at Saudi Hollandi Bank, becoming head of international brokerage before joining the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), where he was head of securities listings.[2][3] Between 2011 and 2015, Al-Rumayyan was CEO of Saudi Fransi Capital (SFC), the investment banking arm of Banque Saudi Fransi.[4][5] From 2014 to 2015 he was on the board of directors of the Saudi Stock Exchange.[5]
Al-Rumayyan sits on the boards of SoftBank Group and Reliance Industries Ltd.[6]
Al-Rumayyan was made chairman of the Saudi Aramco board in September 2019 after Crown Prince Bin Salman stripped Khalid Al-Falih, the energy minister, of his duties when he questioned Bin Salman's directives.[1]
Public Investment Fund
editIn September 2015, Al-Rumayyan was appointed managing director of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF).[7][8]
In 2016, PIF invested $3.5 billion in the US-based Uber[9] He joined Uber's board of directors as part of the agreement.[10]
In August 2016, Al-Rumayyan joined the board of the state oil company Saudi Aramco as part of a move toward closer cooperation between Aramco and PIF in restructuring the Saudi economy.[11] In October that year, PIF invested $45 billion in the newly established SoftBank Vision Fund.[12] In May 2017, PIF invested $20 billion to a joint US infrastructure fund with Blackstone.[13]
Al-Rumayyan was involved in the transfer of assets to PIF in the wake of the Saudi Arabian government's 2017 purge.[14] Al-Rumayyan transferred 20 companies that had been seized by the government into the PIF,[14] including one later alleged to be used by Saudi operatives in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.[14][15]
In October 2021, PIF announced that the acquisition of Newcastle United by the consortium consisting of the Public Investment Fund and that Al-Rumayyan would be elected as chairman of the club after PIF acquired it.[16]
Personal life
editHe has at least one son.[1]
Mohammed Bin Salman gave Al-Rumayyan a house worth 250 million Saudi riyals (over $60m) near the presidential palace.[1]
He has been described as passionate about golfing.[1] After Mohammed Bin Salman's purge of other Saudi political elites, Al-Rumayyan's brother-in-law, Mazin bin Ibrahim Al-Kahmous, was made president of Saudi Arabia’s Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority.[1]
He is close with Donald Trump and has been photographed wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat.[1]
After Trump's win in the 2024 election, he was spotted at a UFC event in Madison Square Garden with the president-elect.[17]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Whitehead, Jacob. "Yasir Al-Rumayyan: A life of power, privilege and risk for golf's most powerful man". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
- ^ "All transactions go". The Business Year. June 2014. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ David French (6 March 2014). "Banque Saudi Fransi loses key equity banker to Jadwa Investment". Reuters.
- ^ "FaceOf: Yasir Al-Rumayyan, head of the Saudi Public Investment Fund". Arab News. 9 May 2018.
- ^ a b "MOVES-CEO of Saudi Fransi Capital resigns - source". Reuters. 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Saudi Aramco chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan joins Reliance Industries Board". The Economic Times.
- ^ Andrew Torchia (25 October 2017). "Huge Saudi fund to be conservative borrower, chief says". Reuters.
- ^ "KSA keen on overseas buying with potential for knowledge transfer". Saudi Gazette. 28 October 2015.
- ^ Alex Konrad (1 June 2016). "Uber Raises $3.5 Billion From Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund, Keeps $62.5 Billion Valuation". Forbes.
- ^ "Saudi signals new investment strategies in $3.5 bln Uber deal". Reuters. 2 June 2016.
- ^ "Saudi Aramco appoints chief of sovereign wealth fund to board". Reuters. 10 August 2016.
- ^ Margherita Stancati; Mayumi Negishi; Nicolas Parasie (20 May 2017). "SoftBank, Saudis Launch $100 Billion Tech Fund". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "Saudi's PIF commits $20 bln to $40 billion fund with Blackstone". Reuters. 24 October 2017.
- ^ a b c "Revealed: Newcastle chairman's links to Saudi 'anti-corruption' drive". the Guardian. 16 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
- ^ Crafton, Adam (2024). "Newcastle chairman Al-Rumayyan faces $74m lawsuit for 'carrying out' malicious instructions of Bin Salman". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
- ^ "PIF, PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media acquire Newcastle United Football Club". Newcastle United. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ "Donald Trump has separate meetings with PGA commissioner, Saudi executive". Washington Post. 17 November 2024.
