Saudi Arabia's Future Investment Initiative (FII) kicks off its seventh iteration this week, October 24-26. The FII is part of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
It started in the wake of Crown Prince's shakedown of royal family relatives and business leaders. Western leaders set that aside until the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The murder marred attendance at the Crown Prince's October 2018 "Davos in the Desert." By 2019 many were ready to "move on."
The pandemic disrupted things for the next few years but the Crown Prince wants to reorient the globe with Saudi Arabia at the center. It launched a series of measures to help governments in 2021.
The Kingdom has been pursuing a deal of the century peace with Israel that would benefit Palestinians. It sounds similar to the economic peace White House advisor Jared Kushner pushed under his father-in-law's White House.
FII 7's agenda shows a plenary session:
"Compass Point: Is Democracy in Peril"
There are four more compass points on the agenda. They include:
- Charting the Uncharted
- A Blueprint for Multidimensional Leadership
- Geopolitics of Tech Investing
- Navigating Megatrends
That gives FII a five point compass. The meeting has a number of interesting breakout sessions. One is "How to Democratize Crypto Investing." Wasn't democracy just in peril?
Other sessions include:
Fortunately, those attending the Crown Prince's soiree need people to funnel them more money, add to their power/influence and eventually give them eternal life or a means off the planet they helped ruin.
Remember the real "Davos Men" have been working on income inequality since 2015. They never shared they were only addressing "the have" side of the equation.
That brings us to the Crown Prince's "Davos in the Desert." It's literally on fire.
Update 11-5-23: The United Arab Emirates censored a John Oliver episode on McKinsey and its role advising the Saudi government. The UAE broadcaster edited out the portion referencing the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate.
“Criticizing the royal family, criticizing the crown prince in Saudi Arabia is a terrorist offense and you can be prosecuted for terrorism."
And the terror the Saudi royal family inflicts on its citizens?
