The Man Who Would Be King

Based on exclusive interviews, an eye-opening biographyof Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), head of the House of Saud, thecalculating ruler of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and a central Middle Eastpower broker.

Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and formerWallStreet Journalpublisher, Karen House has gained unprecedentedinsights into Saudi Arabia and its controversial leader, Crown Prince Mohammedbin Salman through her more than forty years of experience covering the Arabkingdom.

House reveals a leader who like Peter the Great, is areformer determined to modernize his kingdom but also an autocrat who jailspolitical opponents and rival princes to assure his grip on power. Drawing onextensive interviews with the Crown Prince, his royal relatives, and his innerring of advisors,The Man Who Would Be Kingexplains in fullwhat shaped the man who is reshaping Saudi Arabia.

Drawing on fresh, headline-making reporting, House balancesboth sides of this complex ruler. We are introduced to MBS the visionary, whohas ushered in reforms for women to participate more equitably, encouragedtourism to the Kingdom, and placed long term bets on green energy and trilliondollar mega-projects like The Line, a hundred-mile-long enclosed futuristiccity in the desert that will be run by AI. And we meet MBS the Machiavellianprince, widely accused of havingWashington Postcolumnist andSaudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi murdered, and of sports washing the kingdom’sreputation by investing billions in teams globally, from Premiere League soccerto the LIV (liv) golf tour to the World Cup which the Kingdom will host in 2034.

The Man Who Would Be Kingreveals MBS in all hiscomplexities, from his rise to power and his vision for the future of hisKingdom, to his ruthless maneuvers to project power–a shrewd broker working toseal a viable deal with Israel and bring peace to Gaza while he cuts oilsupplies to manipulate Western politics. It is an unprecedent and much neededin-depth portrait of the leader who, at only thirty-nine, will be a majorplayer on the world stage for the next half century.

About the Author

Karen Elliott Houseis a former executive of DowJones & Company, publisher of theWall Street Journal, andformer chair of the Rand Corp. She is also the author ofOn SaudiArabia: It’s People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines–and Future.Shelives in Princeton, New Jersey.