Word: khashoggi
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Throughout his life he has played up his closeness to the Saudi royal family. Lately there have been rumors that Khashoggi is out of favor in Riyadh, but he adamantly denies them. "Having heard so much revolutionary rhetoric, I can really appreciate what the Saudi government did for its people," he says. "King Fahd is the real revolutionary, after all. It takes a revolutionary to rule by common sense and compassion in the midst of turmoil...
When Fahd's half-brother King Faisal took the Saudi throne in 1964 and set the country on a course of close cooperation with the U.S., Khashoggi positioned himself to be the middleman between American arms manufacturers and the Saudi Defense Ministry. At Khashoggi's instigation, the Saudis commissioned the U.S. to study their defense needs and make recommendations as to what they should buy. As a result, Khashoggi had the inside track and locked up sales-agency rights with such U.S. firms as Lockheed, Raytheon and Northrop. He eventually won exclusive commissions on 80% of all U.S. military sales...
After the Arab-Israeli war of 1973, the Arab states were eager to expand their arsenals. Moreover, the rise in oil prices gave them billions to spend on whatever weapons they desired. "That's when the middlemen like Khashoggi really started to make their killings," says one Middle Eastern arms dealer. "It was the gold rush of the 20th century. Every con man in the world was in Arabia." Between 1970 and 1975, Lockheed alone paid Khashoggi $106 million in commissions. During this same period, he is said to have collected hundreds of millions from other corporations. Khashoggi, says...
...Senate subcommittee investigating foreign payments by American corporations looked into Khashoggi's dealings. Northrop said it had given him $450,000 in bribes for Saudi generals. Khashoggi denied the allegations that he had asked for bribe money, but the accusations did not endear him to the Saudi ruling family. In 1976 and '77 the Securities and Exchange Commission attempted several times to subpoena Khashoggi as part of its investigation into arms companies. Khashoggi stayed away from the U.S. for nearly two years, but later came back to give a voluntary deposition...
...1980s, the era of cash-and-carry megadeals had wound down as oil prices declined and the oil sheiks became more sophisticated about arms transactions. By then they had reviewed thousands of arms proposals themselves and had sent their sons off to the U.S. to earn M.B.A.s. Khashoggi was no longer essential...