1
" The Saudi experience with IBI, though brief, proved instrumental and became a model for how the Saudis went on to conduct business. Saudi Arabia understood that it lacked the resources of more developed nations. These included a large population, an educated populace, capital, credit,
and native businesses. What Saudi Arabia realized it did have was an immense quantity of a very desirable resource: petroleum. Because it lacked so many resources, it could not drill for, extract, refine, transport, or sell that petroleum on its own. It needed outside firms to access the value of the petroleum, at least initially. "
― , Saudi, Inc.: The Arabian Kingdom's Pursuit of Profit and Power
6
" When Abdul Aziz captured Riyadh in 1902, the city consisted of only one square kilometer; a century later, Riyadh had grown to 1,300 square kilometers. When Abdul Aziz consolidated his kingdom in 1932, Riyadh had a population of fewer than forty thousand. By the beginning of the 21st century, its population approached six million. Riyadh became a bustling,modern city with terrible traffic, upscale malls, and neighborhoods stratified by class and wealth. In 1932, the man who ruled Saudi Arabia from Riyadh had barely a riyal to his name, but Abdul Aziz’s sons, the succeeding rulers of Arabia, would enjoy immense wealth and come to own the most profitable company in the world—Saudi Aramco. "
― , Saudi, Inc.: The Arabian Kingdom's Pursuit of Profit and Power
12
" During his tenure as king, from 2005 to 2015, Abdullah did promote women’s education with the royal scholarship program that offered full scholarships to women, as well as men, to travel abroad for university degrees. However, he did not end the prohibition against women driving or relax many other restrictions on women. Only two and a half years after King Abdullah’s death, his brother, King Salman, assisted by his 32-year-old son, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, decreed that Saudi women would be permitted to obtain driver’s licenses starting in June 2018. Other restrictions that hindered women from accessing government services without a guardian’s permission were also relaxed a few months earlier. "
― , Saudi, Inc.: The Arabian Kingdom's Pursuit of Profit and Power
15
" Back in 1947, Saudi Arabia lacked basic modern infrastructure. At the time, IBI was already completing projects for Aramco, so the company had been the natural choice to contract for the public works campaign in 1947. By 1951, however, major cities were already electrified and transportation routes had been built. Sanitation services, hospitals, hotels, and even cafés had sprung up around Riyadh and Jeddah. The equipment, plans, and logistics for further expansions were in place. The easily accessible knowledge and personnel that, in the 1940s, made IBI such an advantageous choice now took a back seat to cost. "
― , Saudi, Inc.: The Arabian Kingdom's Pursuit of Profit and Power