| Kippreport.com

Yes, we know you’re famous

September 24, 2008 2:24 by kippreport

In colorful profiles like Time’s recent Ramadan sit-down with Prince Alwaleed bin-Talal, it’s often the buried details that make the piece, like the fact that the richest man in the Arab world is a vegetarian and only eats sugar-free desserts.

At a camp outside Riyadh, where the prince holds his weekly majlis and gives out chunks of cash – always at least 2,000 Saudi Riyals (about $560) to each supplicant – he suddenly starts acting like a teenager showing off his latest toys.

When CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo appeared on the screen, the Prince was suddenly animated. “I know her very well,” he said. “Look, I’ll send her a message now, and she will write back.” His punched an SMS message on his Motorola, and sure enough, 10 minutes later, Bartiromo replied. Alwaleed chuckled and settled back on his cushions. He showed the journalists some photographs stored in his cellphone. “This is me with Bashar Assad,” he said. “And me with Steve Balmer and Bill Gates.”

As though we needed to be convinced of the Prince Alwaleed’s VIP credentials.

Tags: Alwaleed, boast, celebrity, journalist, prince, Saudi