The 96-year-old co-founder of
Al Rajhi Bank
is one of its major shareholders along with three of his brothers. While his stake in the bank is smaller than that of Sulaiman, the fact remains that the shares have lost around a third of their value over the last 12 months, which has impacted on Saleh’s fortune.
It was with younger brother Sulaiman that Saleh first set up a foreign exchange agency used by pilgrims journeying to Islam’s Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina. In later years, they were joined by brothers, Abdullah and Mohammed. Saleh is now president of Al Rajhi Saudi Group, which since its establishment in 1990 has developed a broad range of diversified services covering construction, maintenance, supplies, manufacturing, agriculture, trading and consulting.
Father of a reported 61 children, Saleh is still involved in a range of business activities from real estate to insurance. He also, according to Forbes magazine, owns one of the largest poultry processing plants in Middle East.