Saudi businessman Adnan Khashoggi was assassinated. As a businessman, he was widely recognized. Adnan’s lavish lifestyle made him a global celebrity. When he was alive, he was one of the world’s wealthiest people. On top of that, Adnan was friendly with members of the Saudi royal family. Learn more about him by reading the entire article.
Take a look at how Adnan become the richest and most successful billionaire in the world by learning about his life’s path. Also, learn some details about him, such as his biography, education, early life, personal life, the reason for death, real estate, and many other aspects.
Adnan Khashoggi Beginning of Career
Mohamed, a personal doctor of King Abdul Aziz Al Saud, and Samiha were the parents of Adnan Khashoggi, who was born in Mecca in 1935. Samira, who was born the same year as him, and Soheir, who was born a few years later, were both novelists.
When Khashoggi finished his undergraduate studies at Egypt’s Victoria College in Alexandria, he moved to the United States to attend CSU-Chico, Ohio State, and Stanford Universities, respectively. The future King of Jordan, Hussein bin Talal, was a classmate when he was in high school, and he learned how to negotiate when he arranged a meeting between the fathers of two other students. In the end, Khashoggi dropped out of college to work in the business world.
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How to Make a Living in the Sixties and Seventies
In the 1960s and 1970s, Khashoggi continued to negotiate big transactions, bringing together Western firms to meet Saudi Arabia’s defense demands. Lockheed paid Khashoggi $106 million in commissions between 1970 and 1975, one of the corporations he worked with. For Lockheed, he served as the company’s marketing arm by providing strategic counsel, analysis, and recommendations.
At some point in his professional career, Khashoggi set up a network of connections, including CIA employees Kim Roosevelt and James H. Critchfield, in Liechtenstein and Switzerland to handle his business dealings and commissions. Khashoggi has sent significant sums of money and women to influential persons around the world, including then-US President Richard Nixon.
Khashoggi was also known for his work as a middleman in military negotiations between the Saudi government and US companies. Raytheon and the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation were among their international clientele.
Adnan Khashoggi’s Net Worth
When Adnan Khashoggi died in 2017, he had a net worth of $2 billion USD, making him one of the richest men in Saudi Arabia. After his net wealth peaked at $4 billion dollars in the early 1980s, Adnan Khashoggi was dubbed the “Great Gatsby of the Middle East” because of his flamboyant lifestyle. He was also the CEO of Triad International Holding Company, a multi-national private investment organization that owned and operated a wide variety of key assets and enterprises around the world.
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Adnan Khashoggi Personal Life
A 20-year-old Englishwoman, Sandra Daly, married Khashoggi in 1961, and she changed her name to Soraya when she converted to Islam. They had five children: Nabila, Mohamed, Khalid, Hussein, and Omar, all of whom were reared by them and their spouses.
In 1974, they called it quits. His second wife, the Italian Laura Biancolini, whom he met when she was 17 years old, married Khashoggi in 1978. In addition to Lamia, Khashoggi had a son, Ali, with Biancolini after she converted to Islam. In 1991, Khashoggi married Shahpari Azam Zanganeh, his third and final wife, with whom he remained until his death in 2014.
Adnan Khashoggi Settlement in a divorce case
The matter of Adnan Khashoggi’s divorce from Soraya Khashoggi dragged on for five long years of bitterness. Ultimately, a judge ordered Adnan to pay Soraya $875 million. In terms of money, it was the most costly divorce settlement in history at the time. 81-year-old Khashoggi passed away in 2017 while receiving treatment at St Thomas’ Hospital in London for Parkinson’s illness.
Controversies surrounding Iran-Contra and the Imelda Marcos case
Khashoggi was identified as a middleman in the arms-for-hostages transaction during the Iran-Contra scandal in the 1980s. The Bank of Credit and Commerce International was found to have loaned him the money he needed to make these deals, with both US and Saudi backing. Later, when Khashoggi gave millions to American University for the construction of a sports stadium, the school’s board of trustees indicted him on fraud allegations in 1989.
When Imelda Marcos, the widow of exiled Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, was imprisoned in Switzerland in the late 1980s, Khashoggi was charged with hiding money and engaging in racketeering with her. After being detained for three months, he decided to drop his extradition request after the allegations against him were lowered. A federal jury acquitted Khashoggi and Imelda Marcos in Manhattan in 1990.
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Appearances in the Media
Khashoggi had a thriving media career at the height of his fame, starring on numerous television shows and magazine covers. On the American television show “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” presented by Robin Leach, in 1985, he appeared. In the British television series “After Dark” in 1991, he appeared. He shared the stage with Lord Weidenfeld and Edward Heath, among others, on the late-night talk show.