(Bloomberg) — Saudi Arabia’s annual investment show opens this week to a steady drumbeat of headlines about the kingdom’s fiscal strain. The budget deficit is widening as oil prices remain below the level needed to balance the budget, forcing a change in spending priorities and scaling back some of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s multitrillion-dollar ambitions.
At its heart is Richard Attias, who has spent the past decade courting investors to help transform the kingdom’s economy. The Moroccan-born power broker is at the center of Saudi Arabia’s global activities and is often photographed alongside Crown Prince Mohammed, Yassir al-Rumayyan, who runs the $1 trillion public investment fund, and even US President Donald Trump.
“The show must go on,” he said on the sidelines of last year’s Future Investment Initiative, launched in the shadow of war. While the tensions hanging over the region may have subsided, this year’s events present their own challenges, primarily the turning point for Saudi Arabia from an exporter of capital to a seeker of foreign currency.
In an interview in Riyadh, Atias acknowledged that FIIs play an important role in promoting investment and have generated $190 billion in transactions since their inception in 2017. He characterized Saudi Arabia’s increasing focus on domestic investment as “very fair” and said that financier interest in the kingdom remained strong.
“We did not create FII for people to come, take money and run away,” Atias said. “We created FII to help people understand where to spend their money.”
Wall Street is paying close attention. This year’s forum will focus more on technology and artificial intelligence, two industries central to the crown prince’s diversification plans. The plan will include high-profile participants, including Blackstone CEO Steve Schwartzman and BlackRock’s Larry Fink, who are vying for a multibillion-dollar investment in Saudi Arabia’s AI startup Humane. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO David Solomon and others will focus on opportunities in Saudi Arabia’s emerging private credit market.
About a decade ago, Riyadh authorities wanted to host an event to rival Davos as part of an effort to attract foreign investors to an economy long fueled by oil. They turned to Atias, a former World Economic Forum insider who helped the Saudis set up an FII. At the first meeting in 2017, the newly elevated crown prince laid out his vision for Neom, a $500 billion planned city on the Red Sea, demonstrating the kingdom’s monumental ambitions.
Eight years later, Neom’s costs have ballooned to an estimated $1.5 trillion, and progress has slowed. The ninth edition of the FII comes amid increased scrutiny of these projects and renewed doubts about whether Saudi Arabia can sustain its breakneck development plans. Even the local stock market, once a bright spot for the region, is struggling, with recent listings underwhelming.
Attias’s eponymous company counts the Kingdom and FIIs among its major clients, and its stakes are deeply personal. Richard Attias & Associates, which has produced dozens of events around the world in addition to the Saudi conference, is currently preparing to go public with the potential to make millions of dollars for its founders. But those fortunes are tied to the success of the Saudi story Attias has crafted.
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This event typically draws thousands of people each year. Starting in 2023, participation will require a $15,000 annual membership to the FII Institute, a Riyadh-based nonprofit that manages the conference and broader brand. Attias described the prices as “modest” compared to ticket prices for global conferences such as Davos and the Milken Institute Global Conference, which start at about $25,000.
It is often referred to as the “Davos of the desert,” but Attias rejects that comparison. “First of all, we are not in Davos. And secondly, we are not in the desert,” he said. “Riyadh today is one of the most developed cities in the world.”
In any case, FIIs have now become an integral part of Saudi Arabia’s broader investment strategy, expanding its global reach. Attias is helping launch a satellite version of the Tokyo meeting to mark Trump’s first public appearance since taking office for his second term in Miami.
Saudi Arabia’s success in getting President Trump to headline its rally has put a spotlight on the two countries’ close ties and growing economic ties. This will be the crown prince’s first visit to the United States since 2018, and he is scheduled to meet with President Trump at the White House in November.
This year’s lineup includes senior officials from around 20 countries, from China’s vice president to Britain’s finance minister, and shows how Saudi Arabia balances competing global interests. Robert Mogielnicki, a senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, said Gulf governments are “very adept at leveraging both ends of the political economy to advance their interests on the world stage.”
This event puts Mr. Attias at the highest echelon of power in Saudi Arabia. He communicates with world leaders via WhatsApp, and Prince Mohammed said he has “full trust in what the FIIs are doing.”
For all the success FIIs have had, they have also faced similar crises.
Following the murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, top business leaders including Bill Gates, Jamie Dimon and Richard Branson distanced themselves from the event, citing human rights concerns.
Attias said this year still attracted more participants than previous years, supported by participants from Russia, China, the Middle East and Africa. By 2019, most of those who had avoided the event were lured back by the promise of mega-deals linked to the Vision 2030 economic transformation agenda.
Since then, many companies, including JPMorgan Chase, have deepened ties with Saudi Arabia. The bank last month took on a $20 billion debt facility to help take Electronic Arts private in a $55 billion deal with investors including PIF, and secured a regional headquarters license in Saudi Arabia just days before FIIs. CEO Dimon is scheduled to speak at this year’s event.
Financier Ken Morris was among the dealmakers who performed well in 2018. His company won big deals, including Aramco’s record $29 billion IPO, earning him the nickname “Ken of Arabia.” Morris & Company is currently advising Atias’ company on its plans to go public, which is expected to involve approximately 30% of Atias’ stock. Atias and PIF’s investment arm, Sanavir, are both considering selling some of their stakes.
Mr Atias said he expected Sanavir to make “significant profits” from the venture, but insisted the goal was to organize the business rather than cash out. He also hinted at the possibility of a secondary listing in the future. “We have offices in Dubai, Riyadh, New York, Paris and Africa,” he said. “So we are a global player.”
RA&A has evolved beyond FII production and now only accounts for about 10% of its revenue and hosts more than 50 conferences a year. Although Ahmad Al Husseini is the CEO, Atias’ personal imprint remains. His wife Cecilia (who was married to former French president Nicolas Sarkozy) and daughter both work for the company.
Atias became acting CEO of FII Institute after Penny Richards, formerly of the Aspen Institute, resigned after just a few months in the role. A permanent successor is expected to be chosen by the end of the year.
“It’s not easy to trace someone with such a strong fingerprint,” Atias said, acknowledging that his deep involvement makes succession difficult.
Increasing competition for events across the Gulf is creating new challenges. Dubai will launch Future Finance Week in May 2026 in collaboration with the International Finance Association. The regional circuit already includes December’s Abu Dhabi Finance Week and the pre-summer event, the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha.
While these events mean more opportunities for the companies that help organize them, they also mean more competition for existing conferences, including FIIs.
However, Atias remains convinced that FIIs have carved out a space of their own. “A lot of people say to me, ‘Richard, please tell me the FII dates for the next three or four years,'” he says.
The Government of Qatar is the underwriter of the Qatar Economic Forum presented by Bloomberg.
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