When the stunning news of golf’s Saudi-led merger broke on Tuesday afternoon, Yasir Al-Rumayyan was instantly crowned the new king of golf.
That title is now undeniable for the chairman of the sport’s new empire but zoomed out felt like an understatement. Because the 53-year-old is one of the most powerful men in all sport.
The news - which has led to widespread shock, loud calls for the resignation of the PGA Tour chief Jay Monahan and the halting of complex litigation between the separate competitions - arrived several hours after it was confirmed that Al-Rumayyan’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) had taken control of the four biggest domestic football teams.
It immediately increased the likelihood of big name players heading to the Gulf state for a gargantuan payday. Karim Benzema is on his way to Al-Ittihad. Lionel Messi, N’Golo Kante, Luka Modric and Hugo Llors are among those being linked with summer switches.
And that is before factoring in Newcastle United, the PIF-owned awakened giant of English football who are no longer the new, shiny toy.
Yet, like so many key figures involved in Gulf politics and business, there is an air of mystery around Al-Rumayyan - a man whom little was known outside of Saudi a short few years ago but now oversees an estimated $1trillion of assets for a state with one of the worst human rights records on the planet.
The early days
Born in the northern city of Buraidah in February 1970 to a Saudi father and Syrian mother, Al-Rumayyan was educated at the Al-Abna’a private school for the sons of men working in the ministry of defence and aviation. He later graduated with a degree in accounting from King Faisal University in 1993, choosing to study at home rather than venture abroad like so many wealthy Saudis.
From there he went on a number of placements, spent a semester doing a postgraduate general management course at Harvard Business School and eventually began working at Saudi Hollandi Bank, across a number of departments before becoming the bank’s head of international brokerage.
According to a profile on the Fii Institute, Al-Rumayyan then “joined the Capital Market Authority as part of the founding team in 2008. From 2010 until 2015, he served as Chief Executive Officer and board member of Saudi Fransi Capital, during which he also sat on the board of Tadawul, the Saudi Stock Exchange, from 2014 to 2015.”
Catching MBS’ eye and Vision2030
Mohammed Bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, began to take notice of Al-Rumayyan’s success in those roles and in September of 2015 appointed him as managing director of PIF, which had received new power to invest abroad and had a new board installed.
Within a year PIF had purchased a significant stake in Uber, leading to Al-Rumayyan joining the board, and the launch of MBS’ Vision 2030 campaign in 2016 - a drive to diversify the country’s business portfolio - led to a rapid increase in investment.
By August Al-Rumayyan was placed on the Aramco board and MBS began to purge older members of the Saudi inner circle - culminating in an infamous gathering at Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton in which 400 key business figures were invited and some said they were beaten and had items confiscated.
The shake up freed space for another generation, spearheaded by Al-Rumayyan, to climb the ladder further and Al-Rumayyan was soon considered MBS’ right-hand man, his key lieutenant.
Newcastle
The takeover of Newcastle United took time to get over the line, held up by legal issues and issues linked to piracy of Premier League games, but PIF’s arrival was heralded as a transformative moment and roundly criticised by human rights groups. Al-Rumayyan was installed as chairman, though he is not involved in day-to-day internal decision-making, and the club last month qualified for next season’s Champions League. The squad has received a significant increase in investment and despite the expanding interests elsewhere, the eventual aim is for the club to compete for trophies - and boost Saudi’s global image in a large flex of soft power.
Golf
The creation of LIV Golf sent waves through the sport, leading to a civil war that was playing out in court before yesterday’s incredible announcement. Al-Rumayyan fancies himself as a solid player (he has a handicap of 12) and was cosying up with Donald Trump at a LIV event last year. It is a sport he enjoys more than football and now the entire sport is under his wing, he is expected to take more of a hands-on role.
The other interests
It is hard to compile a definitive list because PIF’s investment portfolio has become so big but Al-Rumayyan stepped down from the Uber board last year, fell out with Elon Musk around proposed investments in Tesla and remains at the helm of Aramco.
He sat on the board of Japanese banking giant Softbank from 2017 to 2020, PIF’s investments extend to Disney and gaming behemoths Electronic Arts and Nintendo. There are stakes in BP, Boeing and dozens of other smaller companies.
What next?
Expansion, investment and widening the empire, basically. Saudi spending shows no sign of slowing down and Al-Rumayyan will continue to be central to the state’s tentacles extending into the global economy. Sport will be at the heart of it and, with golf sewn up, expect PIF to buy up some other football clubs across Europe. Tech will remain another key area of growth.
