Saudi Prince Investing in Costa Rica

Photo from La Nacion.President Oscar Arias, left, welcomes a casual and relaxed-looking Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal.

Saudi Arabian Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal spent the weekend vacationing in Costa Rica’s northwestern province of Guanacaste after arriving in a private 747 Boeing jet.

The prince, listed by Forbes magazine as the 13th-richest billionaire in the world with a fortune of $20.3 billion, was in Costa Rica not only for pleasure, but also for business. Bin Talal is a principal shareholder—along with Bill Gates—in the Four Seasons chain of hotels, including one on Costa Rica’s Papagayo Peninsula, known for its exclusive, luxury resorts.

The 52-year-old prince and his 48-person entourage arrived at the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, Guanacaste, and spent the weekend at the Four Seasons. Sunday, he flew by helicopter to San José and met with president Oscar Arias for half an hour.

In a subsequent press conference in Arias’ Casa Presidencial (Presidential House), the prince announced he would be investing in at least six more hotels in Costa Rica, two of those on the Papagayo Gulf.