Sulaiman Al Rajhi - Essay Example

Sulaiman Al Rajhi Sulaiman Al Rajhi Introduction The business world is led by influential people who have made a living out of understanding and developing the business structures around them. These individuals who have made an impact in the world with their business ideas and methods of how they go about with their businesses are known as entrepreneurs. Sulaiman Al Rajhi is one of few entrepreneurs that come from the Middle Eastern background and is the most influential person in the Islamic banking sector of the world. The self-made billionaire is worth at a net worth of about $6.5 billion which is increasing every day. (Forbes). Career Profile/Education Sulaiman Al Rajhi, as a child, grew up in the upland regions of the Arabian Peninsula known particularly as Najd. This is where he and his brother began the business of helping traveling individuals with the changing of money during their quests between the two cities of Mecca and Medina. Sulaiman and his brother Saleh Al Rajhi made money from building on banking and developing this into a small banking system. With time the formation of the world renowned bank Al Rajhi Bank came into being in 1978. The formation of the bank was done with the equity of the four sons of Abdul Aziz Al Rajhi who are now known to be Saudi Arabia’s wealthiest non-royal family and they belong among the world’s leading philanthropists. Sulaiman Al Rajhi did his Bachelors in Arts and Science studies from the King Abdulaziz University. The major cause of the growth of the Al Rajhi banking business was because of the incredible increase in the travellers between Mecca and Medina during workers from regions around the world would travel to Saudi Arabia to indulge in the oil expedition missions that was going on during the 1970s. The two brothers would help these migrant workers send the money that they were earning back to their home countries to support their families. (Karam, 2010). During which the Saudi Arabian government granted the brothers permission to open the very first Islamic Bank based solely on the principles of the Islamic sharia system. With time the assets of the company grew and the profit led the bank into becoming the largest. The brothers diversified their business and started investing in other businesses which could help them increase their revenues and lead to the growth of the Al Rajhi empire. Entrepreneurial Characteristics Sulaiman Al Rajhi is known to be one of the most entrepreneurial individuals from the Middle Eastern region of the world. The fact that he was nothing more than just a commoner who developed the idea of the Islamic banking from just helping migrants transfer money to their home countries shows that he had the passion to introduce a new concept into the world and gain benefit from it. Sulaiman Al Rajhi and his brother only began with just the idea of helping migrants convert their money so they could purchase things. They would later go and change the money and gain from differences in the currency rates. With time they understood that they could also help these migrants transfer money to their home countries to their loved ones. Ideas of how to manage money kept coming into the mind of young Sulaiman Al Rajhi who later requested the government for permission to establish a bank under the Islamic banking principle. In considerable time, the government gave the brothers permission to construct the bank which now is known to be the largest banking corporation with a capital base of SR 13.50 billion as of March 2007. Sulaiman Al Rajhi established the bank to run under the clear and structured concept under which they began to run the business. As of now, the minor changes that have been included into the banking system are those that include the inclusion of card based services such as VISA and MasterCard. After running the bank for 50 years solely in Saudi Arabia, Sulaiman and Saleh Al Rajhi decided to expand their Islamic banking services into the international market by launching their first international bank based in Malaysia. The bank in Malaysia also worked on the exact same Sharia based banking system that would help businessmen bridge the gap between their modern financial demands. After Malaysia, Al Rajhi bank opened their national office and two separate branches for ladies and men in 2010 to comply with the banking needs of Kuwaiti residents. The year 2011 saw another international addition to their empire with the opening of a national office and banking branches in Jordan. The Saudi Arabian based entrepreneur did not restrict himself to just the banking sector. Investments by the self-made billionaire are also seen spread across the agricultural side as well as other business investments made. Sulaiman always kept his money circulating in investments to maintain a stronghold on the possible prospective of expanding the family run business into other diverse directions. (Shaheen, 2011). Sulaiman Al Rajhi also focused on directing his wealth into a charitable foundation under his name which will establish a state of the art health sciences university. The purpose of the establishment of the university is to help improve the standard of the Saudi Arabian medical system and to match international standards in medical research. (Heath Sciences Education). The purpose of the university is also to create a major economic impact as well a social impact to reduce the unemployment rate and to increase the quality of learning. The billionaire also promises employment based incentives to students who join the institute as encouragement with the purpose of preparing individuals to compete with the world standards and serving to develop the country under Islamic principles. (Heath Sciences Education). The self-made made man is also known to be one the most generous ones. With donations of up to $6 billion just to charity show his visions of keeping Islamic teachings his first priority in the method of life that he had been leading. (Gatenby, 2011). Assessment Sulaiman Al Rajhi is one of the most influential impacts that the country of Saudi Arabia has seen. The man lived a prestigious life and was rewarded at every step he made. With the establishment of such a large empire from nothing but a mission to help migrants, the man became one of the world’s most prominent entrepreneurs. The fact that he was self-made adds to most of his value. Sulaiman led a life which shows that he practiced Islam in every aspect of his life. From the start, his object was none other to help others. The introduction of a pure Islamic banking system also helped the nation develop by generating economic growth on the principles of Sharia and head in the direction of prosperity. Sulaiman Al Rajhi was a man of principle, who believed that everything that a person who has set out to complete a mission can always achieve it if his objectives are clear and clean. Even though Sulaiman Al Rajhi is father to 23 children, he has already transferred his wealth to his children and wives and the remaining amount to charity. The ideology of a medical institute being built to increase the standards of the Saudi Arabian health system encompass his vision to see a brighter future for the youth of the nation and the economy of the country as a whole. The future planning of Sulaiman keeps in light the mission to clear the name of Islam as a religion of hate. The establishment of banking branches in various Islamic countries is another method of increasing the Islamic brotherhood among Islamic nations and to build around the concept of unity keeping in light the respect of women. Sulaiman Al Rajhi is one of the greatest entrepreneurs who grew with no objective of selfishness. He kept the thought of individuals in mind and with the clear intentions he had he kept increasing ways and mediums for migrants to allocate their resources and transfer them without the fear of interest payments. Businessmen in return would repay the amounts borrowed without the fear of having to pay excessive amounts of irrational payments in the form of interest on the principle amounts. Sulaiman Al Rajhi had the vision of helping the individuals of the nation have enough capital to encourage them into utilizing their resources and producing products that could amaze the world. The family was known to be part of the world’s top ranked philanthropists with the aim of supporting charities and supporting new business entities. The nonprofit university that aimed entirely at focusing on his vision of Islamic banking and developing the health related sector. Bibliography Forbes. (n.d.). #109 Sulaiman Al Rajhi. Retrieved November 29, 2011, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/10/billionaires-2010_Sulaiman-Al-Rajhi_OH45.html Gatenby, V. (2011, May 15). Saudi donates billions to charity. Retrieved November 2011, 2011, from Al Jalzeera: http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2011/05/201151522136786875.html Heath Sciences Education. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2011, from Sulaiman Al Rajhi: http://sr.edu.sa/en/ Karam, S. (2010, July 29). Billionaire Sulaiman Al Rajhi transfers assets. Retrieved November 29, 2011, from Reuters: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2010/07/29/uk-sulaiman-idUKLNE66S02020100729 Shaheen, A. N. (2011, May 16). Work hard and save money, Saudi magnate tells youth. Retrieved Novemeber 29, 2011, from Gulfnews.com: http://gulfnews.com/business/banking/work-hard-and-save-money-saudi-magnate-tells-youth-1.808240 Read More