Muhammad bin Salman (often known as MBS) is the crown prince and de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. He was 39 years old as of mid-2025. His father is King Salman. He has been trying for a decade to ease the kingdom's social strictures and reduce its dependence on oil and the state through a programme called Vision 2030, on which the government will have spent almost $3trn by 2030. His social reforms have proceeded with what observers describe as astonishing speed, but the economic transformation has been slower. His latest reforms, introduced in February 2025, seek to bring Saudi employment practices into line with America's.
In 2015, after his father ascended the throne, MBS began a disastrous war in Yemen against the Houthis. He went on to blockade neighbouring Qatar and to approve an operation that led to a journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, being dismembered in Istanbul in 2018. In 2017-18 he held many rich Saudis hostage in a luxury hotel in Riyadh until they handed over large sums to the government. He also kidnapped a Lebanese prime minister during this period.
MBS is rumoured to personally oversee details such as the design of car models at a state-backed car firm. He has transformed from troublemaker to a stabilising influence: Saudi Arabia no longer sponsors terrorism, now counsels others to wind down conflict with the Houthis, has helped Syria's new government, hosted talks on a Ukraine ceasefire, and advises dealmaking with Iran.
In November 2025 he visited Washington with full military honours, including a fly-past and a black-tie dinner at the White House. Donald Trump declared Saudi Arabia a "major non-NATO ally". The two men signed deals for investment, arms sales—including a path towards F-35 fighter jets—and nuclear co-operation. MBS pledged nearly $1trn in American investment, up from the $600bn pledged during Trump's May visit to Riyadh—a sum larger than the kingdom's entire sovereign-wealth fund. On the Abraham accords, MBS told Trump: "We want to be part of the Abraham accords, but we want also to be sure that we secure a clear path to a two-state solution." The Saudis feel no need to hurry because their relationship with America no longer depends on recognition of Israel.
Along with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he convinced Donald Trump to lift sanctions on Syria in May 2025. During Trump's state visit MBS drove him to dinner in a golf cart.
MBS chairs Humain, a state-backed company centralising Saudi Arabia's AI data-centre efforts. His face sits at the top of Humain's website.
Unlike previous Saudi rulers who trumpeted their role as custodians of Mecca and Medina, the two holiest sites in Islam, MBS shows little interest in religious or moral leadership. He never claims to speak for the umma or to pose as the champion of oppressed Muslims. When he engages religion, it is in the vein of moderation, pluralism and coexistence. He is popular within Saudi Arabia for loosening religious strictures and promoting secular pastimes such as music and sport. On Gaza, he has been extremely circumspect, trying not to whip up public opinion.
He is nonetheless a popular figure around the Muslim world. Fully 87% of Syrians, 68% of Moroccans and 58% of Jordanians have a positive opinion of his role in the region, according to Arab Barometer. Of the 12 world leaders the Lowy Institute asked Indonesians about in 2021, he was the most popular, with 57% expressing confidence that he would "do the right thing" in world affairs. His global profile is driven more by venture capital, innovation and glitzy conferences than by religious zeal.
MBS is an avid gamer who plays "League of Legends" with visiting professionals during the Esports World Cup in Riyadh. He has instructed Savvy Games Group, a state-owned enterprise funded by the PIF, to build "a company like Disney, but for games and e-sports". He founded and chairs the MiSK Foundation, a non-profit organisation that majority-owns SNK, a Japanese game developer.
Happiness, n.: An agreeable sensation arising from contemplating the misery of another.