Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal

Hotel de Crillion Bought by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal?

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wealth

As my colleague Deirdre Woollard reported the other day, Paris' famed Hotel de Crillion (above), one of the world's most luxurious hotels with a clientele of celebs and royalty, is being sold to unnamed Saudi investors with ties to the country's royal family for about $354 million. Now an insider tells us that Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, one of the world's richest men with a fortune of $19.4 billion, has a big stake in the deal. The Prince already has significant luxury hotel holdings including an interest in the Four Seasons and Fairmont groups. Back in January 2009 Deirdre reported that the Prince was preparing to embark on a major spending spree via his company Kingdom Holdings to acquire more hotel assets. Earlier this year he also sold off the Raffles Hotel in Singapore for $275 million.

The Crillon acquisition is part of the Prince's new plan for diversification, we're told. Constructed in 1758 as a government building commissioned by Louis XV, the palatial edifice near the Champs Elysées on Place de la Concorde was converted into a hotel 100 years ago. Its Leonard Bernstein suite, on the top floor with a wrap-around terrace, features one of the late maestro's pianos. Other luminaries past and present who have patronized the Crillon include Marie Antoinette, King George V, the Shah of Iran, Winston Churchill, FDR, Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie O, Mariah Carey, Madonna and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Starwood Capital, the property's sellers, took over the Crillon in 2005 as part of its €2 billion acquisition of Taittinger's hotel and champagne empire.

Tags: billionaire, hotel, Hotel de Crillion, luxury hotels, Paris, Prince Al Waleed bin Talal, Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, royalty, Saudi Arabia, UAE, wealth

Euro Disney Plans Expansion

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

France could be getting a bit more Disney. Euro Disney has signed a new deal with the French government that gives it the option to build a new complex on some land east of Paris. Through the extension of an original agreement the company now has until 2030 to build a third park adding to the first Disneyland Paris which opened in 1992 and Walt Disney Studios which opened in 2002. The land may also be home to eco-tourism and sustainable development.

The projects could create a total of 70,000 new jobs and be worth as much as 8 billion euros. According to the Telegraph, one of the ideas being considered is a Marvel "superheroes park" but that project may not be started for several years. Other projects for the Marne-La-Vallee development where Disneyland Paris is located include houses and a nature park that will be set up with French travel company Pierre et Vacances. The nature park "Les Villages Nature de Val d'Europe" could generate up to 1.8 billion euros.

Attendance at Euro Disney was down in the first part of the year but it is still Europe's largest theme park operator. The Walt Disney Company owns a 40 percent share in Euro Disney, and Prince al-Waleed of Saudi Arabia has a 10 percent stake.

Tags: diy, Euro Disney, Mac, paris hilton, prince al-waleed, Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal