Forbes describes bin Talal as an Arab billionaire whom, unlike many of his peers, actively promotes "broader political participation, fair elections and effective job creation across the Arab world" and "has been pushing women's advancement.
First things first: this latest and perhaps biggest round of investment is a huge deal. The massive influ of capital could mean a lot for Twitter's ability to support further explosive growth including but not limited to a doubling down on the development of its advertising platform and revenue model.
Bloomberg broke the story of the latest round of investment and reports on the company's plans:. Twitter is seeking to speed up its ad rollout program, its main source of revenue. So far, Twitter has stayed silent, but we've reached out for comment and will update you when we hear back.
Bin Talal's reputation is strong and his stated interest in joining the Twitter family sounds fair. Then again, since bin Talal's also bankrolled some suspicious companies, too, we expect some skepticism in the not too distant future. Bin Talal is the same Saudi Prince who made headlines over the summer for supporting the Murdoch family in the face of the News Corp. As the corporations number two investor, second only to the Murdochs themselves, bin Talal took a controversial position in defending the status quo at News Corp.
But News Corp. Earlier this year, he also contracted the Saudi Binladen Group yes, those bin Ladens to build the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah which, when finished, will be the world's tallest building. Without casting any judgement or grasping for meaning, we'll revert to what we said at the beginning of this post. Bin Talal is a big deal in the global investment community and his vote of confidence in Twitter as a business is a big deal as a result. Judging by what we know about the Prince's personal taste in yachts , thrones and fashion, he'll also be a fun addition to Twitter's already eccentric family of supporters.
