Why Saudi money is so hard to refuse
GRAVITY
I’d like to think, because of the work I do, that I’d be immune to the gravitational pull of money, but I’d probably be lying. On the rare occasions when I’ve met someone wealthy — and they’ve been multimillionaires, rather than centibillionaires, and thus nowhere close to the lower reaches of the Forbes list — I can’t help noticing that slight tug as my brain says: “Just think of what could be achievable if I could persuade this person to invest in one of my pet projects.”
Which is all to say that, although I’d hope I could resist the lure of the vast mass of Saudi money if I was confronted by it, in reality, I’m not sure I wouldn’t throw myself in and start doing lengths like Scrooge McDuck. That’s certainly what everyone else seems to be doing. So, it’s time to check in once more on Neom, the blandly-named but horrific new city that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has decided to build in the desert because he can:
- “Con Air” director Simon West is set to film a historic drama, “Antara,” in Neom.
- Sindalah has partnered with prestigious JLS Yachts as Neom’s first superyacht destination gears up for opening. “With 86 berths for yachts up to 50 meters and additional serviced offshore buoys for superyachts up to 180 meters, the Sindalah marina will become a new hub for the global yachting calendar,” the press release reads.
- A tunnel contract is up for grabs at Neom’s port city, Oxagon: “The tunnel will link the offshore elements of Neom’s floating port city Oxagon in the Red Sea with the Neom Connector – a high speed railway that will connect Oxagon with its linear city, the Line.”
- Neom is touted as a potential host for the 2034 World Cup.
- The NEOM McLaren Formula E Team has unveiled a motorsport livery designed using generative artificial intelligence.
- South Korean robot maker takes part in supermassive Saudi development Neom.
- Neom, the $500bn megacity, which organizers claim will be 33 times the size of New York City, is due to include a 105-mile straight-line city.
I could go on, but you get the point. A lot is happening, and it is all bewildering. There is a film production hub, a new harbor for superyachts, a high-speed railway, a new port city, a sports venue and a new city that will run for 100 miles in a straight line. A couple of months ago, I was in the Marshall Islands, which is a series of atolls in the Pacific Ocean, where the capital city — Majuro — is long and thin, making it extremely time-consuming to get anywhere and thus incredibly impractical. The Marshallese had no choice about its shape, however, because the island is the rim of a submerged volcano, rarely more than 656 feet wide at any point, and Majuro could only be built where the land was. The Saudis, however, are choosing to build a city in a way that is guaranteed to ensure the longest possible journey times, for no apparent reason. I could understand someone designing it in Minecraft, but why are real-life engineers willing to participate in such an absurd idea?
And that’s just the start of it. Why are engineers building a skiing venue, which will host the Asian Winter Games, at a time when — thanks to climate change — even the Swiss are struggling for lack of snow? Why have other engineers decided to build a waterfront for a region of Jeddah that has no waterfront? Why are soccer players who used to wear rainbow armbands willing to play in a country where homosexuality is illegal?