Adnan Khashoggi facts for kids
Adnan Khashoggi (Arabic: عدنان خاشقجي; 25 July 1935 – 6 June 2017) was a Saudi businessman and arms dealer. He was famous for his large business deals and very luxurious lifestyle. In the early 1980s, his wealth was estimated to be around US$4 billion.
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Family and Early Life
Adnan Khashoggi was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. His father, Mohammad Khashoggi, was the personal doctor to King Abdul Aziz Al Saud. His mother was Samiha Ahmed.
Adnan had several siblings. His sister, Samira Khashoggi, was an author. She married businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed and was the mother of Dodi Fayed. Another sister, Soheir Khashoggi, is also a well-known writer. Adnan had two brothers, Essam and Adil. He named his company, Triad Corporation, after himself and his two brothers. He was also the uncle of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Adnan went to Victoria College in Alexandria, Egypt. He also studied at American universities like California State University, Chico, Ohio State University, and Stanford University. However, he left his studies early to start his business career.
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Business Adventures
Adnan Khashoggi grew up around important people in Saudi Arabia. While at school, he met Hussein bin Talal, who later became the King of Jordan. Adnan quickly learned how valuable it was to connect people in business. For example, he once helped a classmate whose father wanted to buy towels connect with another classmate whose father made towels. He earned US$1,000 just for making the introduction!
In one of his first big deals, a construction company needed help with trucks that got stuck in the desert sand. Adnan used money his father gave him for a car to buy special Kenworth trucks. These trucks had wide wheels that made it much easier to drive in the desert. Adnan leased these trucks to the company and earned his first US$250,000. He then became the main agent for Kenworth trucks in Saudi Arabia.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Khashoggi played a big role in connecting Western companies with the Saudi Arabian government. This helped Saudi Arabia get the things it needed for its buildings and defense. He earned large commissions for these connections. For example, between 1970 and 1975, he earned over $100 million in commissions from a company called Lockheed. He was very good at helping companies understand what the Saudi government needed.
He set up companies in Switzerland and Liechtenstein to manage his earnings. He also made important friends, including people from the CIA and close associates of U.S. President Richard Nixon. His yacht, the Nabila, was the biggest in the world at the time. It was even used in a James Bond movie! Later, due to financial challenges, he sold the yacht.
Khashoggi led a company called Triad International Holding Company. This company built many things, including the Triad Center in Salt Lake City. He was well-known as an arms dealer, helping to arrange deals between American companies and the Saudi government, especially in the 1960s and 1970s. He worked with major defense companies like Lockheed, Raytheon, Grumman, and Northrop.
Triad International
Triad International was a large private investment company owned by Adnan Khashoggi. It was named "Triad" because it represented Adnan and his two brothers, Essam and Adil. The company owned many famous properties and businesses around the world. It had different parts, like Triad Management, Triad Properties, Triad Energy, and Triad Financial resources.
The Khashoggi family even created a board game called Triopoly, similar to Monopoly. The game pieces represented the properties and companies owned by Adnan and his Triad corporation. This game was made and given to family and friends.
Triad International started in the early 1960s and grew to have businesses on five continents. The company owned hotels, shopping centers, banks, oil refineries, a computer maker, a gold mine, construction companies, car and truck dealerships, and even the Utah Jazz professional basketball team.
The main office for Triad was in Geneva, Switzerland. Its smaller companies were located in the United States, Canada, and Saudi Arabia.
Through Triad, Khashoggi owned the Mount Kenya Safari Club in Kenya, which is now called Ol Pejeta Conservancy. He also owned a large property in San Francisco, an oil refinery, a computer systems company, a land and cattle company, a bank, a gold mine, and dealerships for Kenworth, Chrysler, and Fiat cars and trucks in Saudi Arabia.
The company also had big investments in other businesses, like Lloyd's of London, Las Brisas Resort in Mexico, the Houston Galleria, a car rental company, and several banks.
Khashoggi's Triad also owned many private homes around the world. These included homes in Beirut, Jeddah, Riyadh, Geneva, Cairo, Salt Lake City, Rome, Paris, Cannes, London, and a multi-floor apartment in New York.
Through Triad, Khashoggi also owned several private jets and super-yachts. His three super-yachts, the Nabila, the Mohammadia, and the Khalidia, were named after his children: Nabila, Mohammed, and Khalid.
Operation Moses
Adnan Khashoggi played a direct role in helping to organize and fund a secret mission called Operation Moses in 1984. This mission airlifted 14,000 Ethiopian Jews from Sudan to Israel to help them escape a famine during the Ethiopian Civil War.
Legal Matters
Khashoggi was involved in some legal issues. In 1988, he was arrested in Switzerland. He was later sent to the U.S. to face charges. In 1990, a jury in Manhattan found Khashoggi and Imelda Marcos (the widow of the former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos) not guilty of the charges against them.
Khashoggi was also a financier for an internet company called Genesis Intermedia, Inc. In 2006, he was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The case was closed in 2008, and Khashoggi did not admit or deny the claims.
Media Appearances
Adnan Khashoggi was a well-known public figure and often appeared in the news and media. In 1991, he was on a British TV show called After Dark, where he discussed the Middle East.
He also appeared on the show Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous in 1985. This show highlighted his incredibly luxurious way of life. During his most successful years, Khashoggi was a frequent topic in newspapers and magazines, even appearing on the covers of Time and The Washington Post.
Personal Life
In 1961, Adnan Khashoggi married Sandra Daly, an Englishwoman. She converted to Islam and took the name Soraya Khashoggi. They had one daughter, Nabila, and four sons: Mohamed, Khalid, Hussein, and Omar. They divorced in 1974.
Khashoggi's second wife was Laura Biancolini from Italy. She also converted to Islam and changed her name to Lamia Khashoggi. They had a son named Ali. Adnan was still married to Lamia Khashoggi when he passed away. His third legal wife was Shahpari Azam Zanganeh.
In the 1980s, the Khashoggi family lived in a very large villa in Marbella, Spain, called Baraka. They hosted many fancy parties there, with famous movie stars, pop singers, and politicians as guests. In 1985, it was reported that Khashoggi threw a five-day birthday party in Vienna for his oldest son. In his prime, he spent about $250,000 every day to keep up his lifestyle. Even when he faced financial problems, he continued to spend a lot of money. Because of his extravagant life, he was sometimes called the "Great Gatsby of the Middle East."
Khashoggi also owned the Mount Kenya Safari Club, which is now a hotel run by Serena Hotels.
Death
Adnan Khashoggi passed away on 6 June 2017, at St Thomas' Hospital in London. He was being treated for Parkinson's disease. He was 81 years old.
See Also
- Bob Shaheen
