Adnan Khashoggi

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Lore & Background

Khashoggi was born in Mecca to Muhammad Khashoggi, King Abdul Aziz Al Saud's personal doctor, and Samiha Ahmed, a Saudi woman of Syrian origin. He was educated at Victoria College in Alexandria, Egypt, and attended Chico State, Ohio State, and Stanford University, leaving his studies to pursue a business career. His early years were spent among influential figures; while at school he met Hussein bin Talal, the future King of Jordan, and learned the commercial value of facilitating a deal by earning $1,000 for introducing a Libyan classmate whose father wanted to import towels with an Egyptian classmate whose father manufactured towels. In one of his first big deals, using money from his father for a car, he bought Kenworth trucks whose wide wheels made traversing desert sands easier, leasing them to a construction company for his first $250,000. Between 1970 and 1975, Lockheed paid Khashoggi $106 million in commissions, which started at 2.5% and eventually rose to 15%. He established companies in Switzerland and Liechtenstein to handle commissions and developed contacts with CIA officers James H. Critchfield, Kim Roosevelt, Miles Copeland, and U.S. businessman Bebe Rebozo. His yacht, the Nabila, was the largest in the world at the time and was used in the James Bond film Never Say Never Again. Khashoggi headed Triad International Holding Company, named after himself and his two brothers, Essam and Adil. The company's holdings included hotels, shopping centers, banks, oil refineries, a computer manufacturer, a gold mine, construction companies, car and truck franchises, and the Utah Jazz basketball team. He gained influence with U.S. President Richard Nixon by donating $200 million to his 1972 political campaign through a friendly bank, circumventing laws prohibiting such large sums from American corporations. Khashoggi died on 6 June 2017 while being treated for Parkinson's disease at St Thomas' Hospital in London.

Reader's Guide

His business model, which involved high commissions and extensive networking with intelligence and political figures, exemplified the intersection of private enterprise and state power. Khashoggi's opulent lifestyle, including lavish parties attended by film stars, pop celebrities, and politicians like former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau, and a $250,000 daily spending habit, made him a media fixture and cultural icon, inspiring songs by Queen and appearances on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. However, his financial decline in the 1990s, with net worth dropping to about $8 million, highlighted the volatility of his fortune. His legacy is also marked by his family connections, including being the paternal uncle of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and his influence on popular culture. The Triad International conglomerate, with its diverse global investments, demonstrated the reach of Saudi business interests abroad, though some ventures, like the Triad Center in Salt Lake City, later went bankrupt.

Did You Know?

• Khashoggi's yacht, the Nabila, was the largest in the world at the time and was used in the James Bond film Never Say Never Again.
• Between 1970 and 1975, Lockheed paid Khashoggi $106 million in commissions, which started at 2.5% and eventually rose to 15%.
• Khashoggi gained influence with U.S. President Richard Nixon by donating $200 million to his 1972 political campaign through a friendly bank, circumventing laws prohibiting such large sums from American corporations.
• In 1985, celebrity reporter Robin Leach reported Khashoggi threw a five-day birthday party in Vienna for his eldest son.
• Khashoggi was the paternal uncle of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi.