Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who owns 7% of News Corp.’s voting shares, has spoken out against calls to change the conglomerate’s dual-class share structure or its leadership,
the
Financial Times
reported.
The prince is News Corp.’s “most powerful shareholder after the Murdoch family,” the
FT
article said. He is a nephew of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah and a longtime friend of News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch. The prince, whose net worth is nearly $20 billion, owns Mideast broadcaster Rotana Media (in which News Corp. holds a 14.5% stake), controls 95% of investment vehicle Kingdom Holding and is the largest individual investor in Citigroup, according to the report.
The Murdoch family controls nearly 40% of the company, though the family’s financial stake is only 12%, the report noted. Prince Alwaleed told the
FT:
“Investors went into News Corp. knowing the class A and B share structure. No one can cry wolf now.”
The prince told the
FT
he supports the handling of News Corp.’s phone-hacking crisis by Rupert Murdoch and his son, James. (Source:
Financial Times,
July 25, 2011.)
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