Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, detained since early November in a corruption probe, faces a demand from Saudi Arabian authorities of at least $6 billion to win his freedom, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The price being demanded is among the highest sought for those who have been arrested, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Alwaleed, 62, is the 57th-richest person in the world, with an $18 billion fortune according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He is known internationally for investments in companies including Citigroup Inc., Apple Inc. and Twitter Inc.
The Journal reported that Alwaleed is talking with the government about accepting as payment for his release a large piece of his conglomerate, Kingdom Holding Co. Kingdom Holding is listed on the Saudi stock exchange and has a market value of almost $9 billion.
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