He worked as a porter, cleaner, cook and office boy before co-founding what is today one of the world's largest Islamic banks with his brothers (Abdullah, Saleh and Mohammed) in 1945. As of 2011, his wealth was estimated by Forbes to be $5.9 billion, making him the 169th richest person in the world.
He is well known for his philanthropic activities after donating his 19.7 per cent stake in Al Rajhi Bank, worth nearly $5.5bn, to an endowment dedicated to charitable causes in 2013. Those deeds and the transfer of stakes in his paper, plastic and family investment firms saw him named in a list of the world's top philanthropists by wealth consultancy firm; "Wealth-X" in 2015.
He also donated $16 billion (60 billion riyals) as Waqf throughout his lifetime. An amount that is considered one of the largest endowments made in the Islamic world and which no one has surpassed.
Some of the donations he made included:
1. He dedicated his bank shares (worth $3.7 billion, his poultry farm and other assets to a charitable endowment that funds anti-hunger efforts and education in the kingdom.
2. He established the Sulaiman Al Rajhi University, a non-profit university that focuses mainly on health and Islamic banking.
3. He also gave away two-thirds of his entire wealth to charity in the form of (WAQF)–an Islamic endowment- and the remaining one-third to his family.
"WAQF" - refers to the donation of valuable goods including money, buildings, land or other assets to the public – with no intention of reclaiming them back.
He has also won numerous awards for his notable contributions, which included;
* In 2012, he received the King Faisal International Prize for dedicating half his fortune to charity as well as starting an Islamic bank that supports charity work and implements essential national projects.
* Rajhi was once awarded the Lifetime achievement award for his founding of Islamic Charitable Organisations and Al-Rajhi Bank at a Global Islamic Economy Summit in Dubai.
What do you think about this Arab Philanthropist, Sheikh Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz Al Rajhi?
