RIYADH: Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Rajhi, the founder of Al Rajhi Bank in Saudi Arabia, an eminent businessman and well known for his charity work, passed away following a heart attack Saturday afternoon at Al-Habeeb Hospital in Riyadh at the age of 99.
Prayers for him were offered at Al-Rajhi Mosque at Riyadh’s Exit 15 on the east ring road on Sunday.
According to Al-Rajhi website, Al-Rajhi was born in 1912 in Al-Bakeeriya, Qassim Province. He later moved to Riyadh along with his father where he studied under Sheikh Muhammad Bin Ibrahim Aal Al-Sheikh, the Kingdom’s Grand Mufti at the time.
Al-Rajhi was the sponsor of the largest endowment in the Kingdom, and dedicated many of his properties to charity. He also founded the Saleh Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Rajhi Endowments Administration.
Members of the Kingdom’s business community mourned over his death and described it as a great loss.
“He was a great self-made businessman who began with just a small business that he gradually formed into larger businesses until they became a commercial empire,” said Mazen Batterjee, Vice Chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“He created a boom in the economic world and in charity work, and the Al-Rajhi Group constituted a significant tributary to the national economy.”
“Al- Rajhi was known for his generosity and loyalty, and described his group as a great economic edifice in the Kingdom,” said Bandar Al-Humaidhi, a prominent Riyadh businessman.
“He worked according to organizational principles based on firm foundations,” he added.
Businessman Ibrahim Al-Subai’i said “Al-Rajhi was a great influence on the diversification of investment and group embodied the depth of his economic thought.”
“He strove to develop his trade activities from a small firm into a large group composed of numerous companies and involved in a variety of projects,” Al-Subai’i noted. “They all had the same goal, which was to maintain growth, stability and performance simultaneously,” he added.
He also highlighted Al-Rajhi’s sense of responsibility toward society and charity work, as well as his humility.
“He didn’t enjoy the limelight, he was only ever concerned with extending help to others,” he further said.
Sheikh Saleh started his career in 1930 along with his younger brother Sulaiman Abdul Aziz Al-Rajhi. He first set up a foreign exchange agency. They were later joined by brothers, Abdullah and Mohammed and diversified their investment in real estate, trading, construction, manufacturing etc. However, according to the website, banking and finance remains their primary source of family wealth.
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