The Man Who Made Millions From Scratch, Meet Suleiman Al Rajhi

Sheikh Suleiman Abdulaziz Al-Rajhi was born in the Bukayriyah region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He and his family suffered from difficult living conditions, so he moved with his family to Riyadh in search of better job opportunities. Sheikh Suleiman worked in simple professions at the beginning of his life, but he finally settled down to work in the field of exchange. Credit goes primarily to Sheikh Suleiman for the establishment of Al-Rajhi Islamic Bank, in addition to his great contributions in the field of Islamic endowment, as he donated two-thirds of his wealth to his endowment company. A Saudi businessman started from scratch and managed to make a fortune of approximately $7.4 billion, so who is he? What is his success story? Let’s read.

Who is Suleiman Al Rajhi?

Suleiman Al-Rajhi was born in the Bukayriyah region of Al-Qassim Governorate, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He was the third son in his family, which consisted of his parents and 3 brothers. The family lived under very poor living conditions, which prompted his father to travel to Riyadh with two of his sons in search of a job that would provide the family with its necessities. After the father succeeded in obtaining a suitable job, he returned again to Bukayriyah to take the rest of the family to Riyadh.

When the family arrived in Riyadh, the father made sure that Suleiman joined school, so he spent some time there before moving with the aim of working in the field of trade. Of course, the road ahead of Sheikh Suleiman was not smooth, as he was forced at first to work in several simple professions. He worked as a porter of goods and a guard for some shops in the market. He also participated in various construction works and finally ended up opening a small shop in the market, but did not last long. He decided to sell it and move to work in a shop belonging to one of his brothers.

During the period between 1945 and 1956, Suleiman Al-Rajhi worked with his brother Saleh in the field of exchange, so he had to move to Jeddah in order to closely follow the exchange business there.

Suleiman succeeded in his mission due to his extreme sincerity and great honesty at work, so he was keen to bring the deposits himself from the airport for fear of losing them. Sheikh Suleiman was not satisfied with that, so he decided to collect additional funds to help him form his own capital, so he traded in a number of different commodities, such as fabrics and others. But after the brothers' business flourished, they decided to buy a small shop. At the end of 1957, they agreed that the shop and the exchange business would be a partnership between them.

Suleiman’s Greatest Achievements:

The scope of the commercial activity of the two brothers Saleh and Suleiman expanded to include other economic fields such as the construction and real estate sectors. This was accompanied by the prosperity of the exchange business, so their branches spread in various regions of the Kingdom. And the situation continued in this manner until 1971, when the two brothers decided to dissolve their partnership.

A year later, Sheikh Suleiman established his foundation, which bore the name "Suleiman Abdulaziz Al-Rajhi" and was particularly active in the fields of exchange and real estate. During the following years, Sheikh Suleiman achieved great success and gained a good reputation among his clients, both inside and outside the Kingdom.

In 1978, the two brothers, Saleh and Suleiman, returned to working together again and established, in cooperation with the rest of their brothers, the Al-Rajhi Company for Exchange and Trade.

The company's business has developed within a few years, and its activity has spread to different countries around the world. During that period, Sheikh Suleiman moved between several foreign countries and gained many experiences as a result.

However, as a result of his travels, he discovered the great need for an Islamic bank whose financial transactions would be compatible with the provisions of Islamic law. From this point of view, Silman proposed to his brothers the project to establish Al-Rajhi Islamic Bank, and this idea was very welcomed by the brothers due to the great similarity between their businesses and the activities of the bank, so they agreed to it and they all applied to the Saudi government to allow them to establish the bank.

Thus, Al-Rajhi Investment Bank was launched in 1987. The number of the first founders of the bank was limited, reaching 132 shareholders. However, the bank's activities quickly developed and expanded, so branches were opened in various regions within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in addition to, of course, the opening of foreign branches in several countries such as Kuwait and Jordan.

Since its inception, Al-Rajhi Bank has played a major role in the economic and social life in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, as its investments have included various sectors and its activities have extended to the countries of Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia.

Sheikh Suleiman completed his successful career after establishing Al-Rajhi Bank, so he decided to go into the food industry sector, believing in the need to increase the quantities of food production in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Accordingly, he announced the launch of the poultry project and the shrimp company in Saudi Arabia, which reaped great results despite their faltering beginnings. 

Sheikh Suleiman did not neglect the industrial sector, so he contributed to the establishment of many factories in various fields, such as the carton factory, the plastic factory, and others. Also, he founded a company for transportation and shipping.

On the other hand, Sheikh Suleiman did not neglect charitable work, especially since he suffered from extreme poverty during his childhood. In 2001, he launched the "Suleiman Abdulaziz Al-Rajhi Charitable Foundation," which was active in many areas such as providing grants and material assistance to charities, as well as supporting charities working in the fields of health, advocacy, and education.

This institution has opened more than 13 branches in various regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Sheikh Suleiman continued his charitable activities, allocating some lands and real estate to be endowments for the benefit of the poor. Also, he announced that two-thirds of his wealth would be set aside as an endowment for God.

In the interest of Sheikh Suleiman to improve the level of education in his country, he worked to establish what is known as Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Colleges, which is a non-profit institution that helps students receive their academic education in the fields of medicine and nursing, as it includes an educational program for studying medicine for a period of six years. The benefits of these colleges do not stop there, as they provide their health services for free to citizens.

In conclusion:

Recently, Sheikh Suleiman announced the distribution of his entire financial wealth, amounting to more than $7 billion, to his children, so that they would receive a third of it, while the remaining two-thirds would be owned by the Suleiman Al-Rajhi Endowment Company. Thus, Sheikh Suleiman Al-Rajhi has provided a fine example of a businessman who prefers the public interest over his personal interest.