Adnan Khashoggi was a man who did business.
He owned many big things. He had large boats and many hotels. He was very rich. He even made a board game about his work.
Do you like playing games?
Adnan Khashoggi was a man who did big business.
He was very rich. He helped companies sell things to a large land called Saudi Arabia.
He owned many things like hotels and oil plants. He even had a huge boat.
He was famous for his big parties. He even made a game about his work.
Many people knew his name because of his busy life.
Adnan Khashoggi was a famous businessman from Saudi Arabia.
He was known for being very rich. He worked as a middleman for big deals. He helped Western companies sell tools and weapons to Saudi Arabia. This work made him a lot of money. At one point, he was worth about $4 billion.
He started a large company called Triad International. He named it after himself and his two brothers. Through this company, he owned many things. He owned hotels, oil plants, and even a basketball team. He even made a board game about his many properties.
Khashoggi lived a very grand life. He had huge parties for famous people. He owned a very large yacht named Nabila.
He also helped people in hard times. In 1984, he helped move 14,000 people to safety. This was during a time of hunger in Ethiopia. He died in London in 2017 at age 81.
Adnan Khashoggi was a very famous businessman from Saudi Arabia.
He was known for his massive wealth and his many business deals. People often called him "The Great Gatsby of the Middle East." This was because he lived a very grand and flashy life. He was a middleman who helped different countries and companies work together. He helped Western defense companies sell things to the Saudi government. This work made him incredibly rich during the early 1980s. At his peak, his wealth was worth about $4 billion.
Khashoggi used his skills to connect people for profit. He learned this early in his life at school. He once earned $1,000 just by introducing two classmates. One father wanted to buy towels, and the other made them. Later, he used money from his father to buy Kenworth trucks. These trucks had wide wheels to help move through desert sand. He leased them to a construction company and made $250,000. He eventually became a main agent for that truck company.
He built a huge company called Triad International Holding Company. He named it "Triad" after himself and his two brothers.
This company owned many different types of businesses around the world. They owned luxury hotels, oil refineries, and even a basketball team. His holdings included a gold mine in Canada and banks. He even made a custom board game called Triopoly. The game tiles showed the many properties he owned.
His lifestyle was famous all over the world. He hosted massive, lavish parties for celebrities and politicians. He owned several super-yachts, including the very large Nabila. This yacht was even used in a James Bond film. At one time, he spent $250,000 every single day. He lived in large estates like Baraka in Spain. He also owned a home in Kenya called the Mount Kenya Safari Club. This place is now a hotel run by Serena Hotels.
Khashoggi also took part in important global events. In 1984, he helped fund a mission called Operation Moses. This helped move 14,000 Ethiopian Jews to safety in Israel. He was also involved in the Iran-Contra affair as a middleman. These events showed how much influence he had in politics. Later in life, he faced some financial problems and legal issues. He died in London on June 6, 2017. He was 81 years old and was being treated for Parkinson's disease.
Adnan Khashoggi was a prominent Saudi Arabian businessman and arms dealer. He was a major intermediary between Western defense companies and the Saudi government. This role gave him immense geopolitical influence throughout the late 20th century. Because of his incredibly grand lifestyle, he was often called "The Great Gatsby of the Middle East."
At his peak in the early 1980s, his net worth reached approximately $4 billion. He was a central figure in international business and high-level politics.
Khashoggi's ability to facilitate deals began during his early education. While in school, he earned $1,000 by connecting a classmate who needed towels with a manufacturer. He later applied this skill to the construction industry. He used money from his father to purchase Kenworth trucks with wide wheels. These specific wheels allowed the vehicles to travel easily over shifting desert sands. He leased these trucks to a construction company and earned $250,000. This success led to him becoming the Saudi Arabian agent for Kenworth.
As his career grew, Khashoggi became a vital link for major defense contractors. During the 1960s and 1970s, he helped satisfy the infrastructure and defense needs of Saudi Arabia. He worked closely with companies like Lockheed, Raytheon, Grumman, and Northrop. Between 1970 and 1975, Lockheed paid him $106 million in commissions. His commission rates varied from 2.5% to as high as 15%. He acted almost as a marketing arm for Lockheed, providing strategy and analysis.
He managed his vast wealth through the Triad International Holding Company. He named the company "Triad" to honor himself and his two brothers, Essam and Adil. The corporation was a multinational entity with subsidiaries in several different sectors. These included Triad Management, Triad Properties, Triad Energy, Triad Technology, and Triad Financial Resources. The company's reach spanned five continents and included diverse holdings. These ranged from luxury hotels and oil refineries to gold mines and even the Utah Jazz basketball team.
Khashoggi's business empire was so large that he created a custom board game. This game was called Triopoly and was modeled after the classic game Monopoly. The tiles on the board represented the various properties and companies owned by Triad. His real estate holdings were located in cities like Geneva, Paris, London, and New York. He also owned several private jets and massive super-yachts. His largest yacht, the Nabila, was used in the James Bond film *Never Say Never Again*. He later sold the Nabila to the Sultan of Brunei, who eventually sold it to Donald Trump.
Beyond simple commerce, Khashoggi was involved in complex global political events. In 1984, he helped organize and fund Operation Moses. This secret mission airlifted 14,000 Ethiopian Jews from Sudan to Israel during a famine. He was also a key middleman in the Iran-Contra affair. In this instance, he helped facilitate an arms-for-hostages exchange. These roles demonstrated his ability to navigate the highest levels of international intelligence and government. He was even described as a principal foreign agent of the United States.
Despite his immense success, Khashoggi eventually faced significant financial and legal challenges. By 1990, his net worth had reportedly fallen to about $8 million. He faced various legal issues, including an arrest in Switzerland in 1988 for concealing funds. He also dealt with charges related to fraud and obstruction of justice in the United States. Khashoggi passed away on June 6, 2017, in London. He was 81 years old and was receiving treatment for Parkinson's disease.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (3)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.