02/07/2015 03:18 AST
Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the chairman of Kingdom Holding, will donate $32 billion to charity in coming years via Alwaleed Philanthropies, he said on Wednesday.
The sum represents his entire wealth, he told a news conference in Riyadh, and will be given to charities including those that promote health, disease eradication, disaster relief and women's rights.
Prince Alwaleed said some of the donated wealth will include his personal stake in Kingdom Holding, the investment firm in which he owns the vast majority of the stock, but no shares would be sold and there would be no impact on the company's share price from his actions.
He declined to give a timeframe for the allocation of the sum to charity but said it would not impact on his overall investment strategy.
Announcing the decision, Alwaleed said: "This $32 billion philanthropic pledge will help build bridges to foster cultural understanding, develop communities, empower women, enable youth, provide vital disaster relief and create a more tolerant and accepting world."
"It is a commitment without boundaries. A commitment to all humankind," he stated.
"Based on my dedication and passion for philanthropic work for the past 35 years, I now pledge to donate my entire wealth to the Alwaleed Philanthropies, which work in the main fields of intercultural understanding, supporting needy communities, through health promotion, eradication of diseases, provision of electric power to remote villages and hamlets, building orphanages and schools, and much more, as well as providing disaster relief and empowering women, youth and poverty alleviation," he noted.
"This donation will be allocated according to a well-devised plan throughout the coming years. It will be based on a strategy that is supervised and managed by a board of trustees headed by me to ensure that it will be used after my death for humanitarian projects and initiatives," he added.
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