MBS: despot in the desert
A volatile millennial wields absolute power in Saudi Arabia. What will he do next?
By Nicolas Pelham
No one wanted to play football with Muhammad bin Salman. Sure, the boy was a member of Saudi Arabia’s royal family, but so were 15,000 other people. His classmates preferred the company of his cousins, who were higher up the assumed order of succession, a childhood acquaintance recalls. As for the isolated child who would one day become crown prince, a family friend recounts hearing him called “little Saddam”.
This article appeared in the 1843 magazine section of the print edition under the headline “MBS: despot in the desert”
1843 magazine
July 30th 2022- MBS: despot in the desert
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