Yasir Al-Rumayyan has explained how the strategy of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) changed - which ultimately paved the way for Newcastle United's takeover many years later.
The PIF was originally established by royal decree in 1971 as a fairly low-key, internal investment fund that held government stakes in Saudi companies. However, in 2008, the PIF announced the launch of a sovereign wealth fund to invest in global assets.
The PIF was later given the freedom to invest without the approval of the Council of Ministers - reporting instead to the Economic and Development Affairs Council chaired by Prince Mohammed bin Salman - and Al Rumayyan went on to be appointed as governor of the fund. In an effort to diversify, the PIF has since invested in a host of Western companies, including Uber, Disney, Facebook and Boeing, amassing around $608bn in assets in the process.
