Yeslam bin Muhammad bin 'Awad bin Laden ( ar, يسلم بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن; born October 19, 1950) better known as Yeslam bin Laden, also written Yeslam Binladin, as he prefers to spell it, is a businessman and the half-brother of the deceased
al-Qaeda leader,
Osama bin Laden.
Family background and early life
Yeslam bin Ladin is a Saudi national of
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
n and
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
i heritage (through his mother and father, respectively). He has 54 half-brothers and half-sisters, including 2 younger brothers (Ibrahim and Khalil), and a younger sister (Fawzia), by the same mother as him,
Rabab Haguigui. They used to live in
Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, . His father,
Mohammed bin Laden
Muhammad Binladin ( ar, محمد بن لادن, translit=Muḥammad Binlādin; – 3 September 1967) was a Saudi tycoon who founded the Saudi Binladin Group. He worked primarily in the construction industry and became the wealthiest non-royal S ...
, died when he was 17 years old.
He has lived in
Switzerland since the mid-1980s, and became a
Swiss citizen
Swiss citizenship is the status of being a citizen of Switzerland and it can be obtained by birth or naturalisation.
The Swiss Citizenship Law is based on the following principles:
* Triple citizenship level (Swiss Confederation, canton, and mun ...
in April 2001. He speaks
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
,
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
French and
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
. As of 2020, he speaks
Turkish. He is a
Sunni Muslim and is said to live a mainly
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
lifestyle. An ex-girlfriend of his from 1993 to 2001,
Catherine Berclaz, is a Swiss interior decorator who wrote a book on their relationship, ''Yeslam, My Love: In the Heart of the Bin Laden Family''.
He divorced his wife,
Carmen bin Ladin, in January 2006, after 15 years of separation. Carmen bin Ladin wrote an autobiography, ''Inside the Kingdom'' (), which was a ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' Bestseller, recounting her life in the
Bin Laden family
The Binladin family ( ar, عائلة بن لادن, ) is an Arab family intimately connected with the innermost circles of the Saudi royal family. It is the namesake and controlling shareholder of Saudi Binladin Group, a multinational construct ...
and how she managed to keep her daughters in her custody. He has three daughters,
Wafah Dufour
Wafah Dufour (born Wafah bin Ladin, May 23, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter, socialite, and model.
mirror
Biography
Wafah bin Ladin was born on May 23, 1975 (although some reports have given 1978 or 1980) in Los Angeles, Califor ...
, Najia, and Noor, and has reportedly not spoken to them for more than 15 years because of their western customs. Wafah (Dufour) bin Ladin earned a law degree from
Geneva University
The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centur ...
, and a master's degree from
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...
in New York. In 2006, she appeared in a men's magazine, ''GQ''. She has lived in New York and now resides in London.
After attending high school in
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
, bin Ladin studied
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...
at
Göteborg University,
Sweden, and business administration at
USC. On February 25, 2005, he was granted permission by the
Swiss government
The Federal Council (german: Bundesrat; french: Conseil fédéral; it, Consiglio federale; rm, Cussegl federal) is the executive body of the federal government of the Swiss Confederation and serves as the collective head of state and governme ...
to use the name bin Ladin to brand products for his business including a perfume for men and women dubbed "Yeslam," and a second one for women "Passion," and other goods such as handbags, accessories, and watches under the name "Yeslam." Shops opened in
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
(1), in
Jeddah (2), in
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of th ...
(1), in
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...
, in
Dammam (1) (Saudi Arabia) and in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). He hires creators and chooses the creations, but he is not himself a designer. He has a pilot's license, like his father, and owns a
Learjet.
Current activities
Since 1980, Yeslam has been chairman of the
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
,
Switzerland-based
Saudi Investment Company
The Saudi Investment Company (SICO), headquartered Geneva, Switzerland, and founded on May 19, 1980, represents the worldwide interests of the Saudi Binladin Group.
Overview
The Geneva-based SICO is the parent house for the group's internatio ...
(SICO), which represents his family's
Saudi Binladin Group
Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) is a Saudi construction company headquartered in Jeddah, Hejaz. It is the largest construction company of the Middle East. The company is owned primarily by the Bin Laden family.
Founded by Muhammad Binladin in 1931, ...
's international financial interests. His fortune was estimated to have peaked at 300 million
Swiss Francs, but is now thought to be below 100 million.
He has been a partner of Pakistani businessman
Akberali Moawalla.
References
Further reading
* Bin Ladin, Carmen.
Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia', Warner Books: New York.
External links
The World of Yeslam, with photo in MagazineYeslam Interview with photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bin Ladin, Yeslam
1950 births
Living people
University of Gothenburg alumni
Saudi Arabian businesspeople
Yeslam
Saudi Arabian people of Yemeni descent
Saudi Arabian emigrants to Switzerland
Saudi Arabian people of Iranian descent
Swiss businesspeople
Swiss people of Iranian descent
Swiss people of Yemeni descent
fr:Yeslam Bin Ladin