Billionaire Dalio likens Saudi prince MBS to economic transformers Deng Xiaoping and Lee Kuan Yew

Bloomberg
Updated ·2-min read
Ray Dalio, Founder of Bridgewater Associates, appears on a screen as he attends the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
Ray Dalio, Founder of Bridgewater Associates, appears on a screen as he attends the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

(Bloomberg) – Billionaire Bridgewater Associates Founder Ray Dalio called Saudi Arabia’s de-facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman a “great leader” and likened him to China’s Deng Xiaoping and Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew.

“I think his Royal Highness is a great leader,” Dalio said Tuesday at Riyadh’s Future Investment Initiative, the crown prince’s flagship investment conference. “He’s almost like a Deng Xiaoping of China, in a sense, or a Lee Kuan Yew.”

MBS, as the prince is known, runs a tightly-controlled state, and has been driving a multi-trillion dollar program to reduce the kingdom’s reliance on oil. Deng and Lee also oversaw economic transformations while keeping strong grips on power.

As prime minister from 1959 to 1990, Lee helped turned Singapore into Southeast Asia’s richest nation by opening it to foreign investors while emphasising incorruptibility and stability. Critics accused him of being overly authoritarian, especially for imposing instant fines for misdemeanours and the death penalty for serious crimes.

Deng introduced market reforms that sparked China’s economic rise in the 1980s, while also ordering the deadly military crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

It remains to be seen how effective the Saudi prince’s economic drive will be. The kingdom remains hugely dependent on oil and has yet to become a world class hub for any major industries beyond crude and petrochemicals.

Dalio, who built Bridgewater into a $160 billion fund, has close ties to the region. He’s been the face of Abu Dhabi’s recent success in drawing hedge fund luminaries and set up a branch of his personal investment firm in the emirate last year.

“I would say the most important thing when looking at different locations is first the financial – do you earn more money than you spend?,” Dalio said. “Second, do you have internal order in which, rather than conflict, you have good leadership and management?”

(Updates with details)

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