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Alwaleed Buys Citigroup Stock as Loss Exceeds Buffett

The Warren Buffett of the Gulf is taking a bigger hit from the credit crunch than the original.Prince Alwaleed bin Talal was lauded by Time magazine as the Middle East’s answer to the Sage of Omaha after a 1991 investment in Citigroup Inc.’s predecessor helped make the Saudi billionaire one of the world’s five richest people.

This year, Alwaleed’s investments aren’t keeping pace with regional benchmarks, let alone Buffett. His Riyadh-based Kingdom Holding Co. has slumped 63 percent — more than Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All-Share Index or Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. — wiping out $13 billion in value. Kingdom today said Alwaleed will boost his Citigroup stake, his largest holding, to 5 percent, even after the shares fell more than 80 percent since Jan. 1. 

Alwaleed and his companies are buying Citigroup shares because the prince believes they are “dramatically undervalued,” Kingdom Holding said in a news release. The combined stake stands at less than 4 percent after recent Citigroup share sales diluted the holding, Kingdom said.

“Prince Alwaleed is fully confident that Citigroup’s universal banking model and global franchise will make it a long- term winner in the financial services industry,” Kingdom said.

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