Saudi prince who wooed West finds few friends in tough times

The son of King Salman, Prince Mohammed is trying to modernise the Saudi economy in part by weaning the country off its decades-long dependency on oil revenue

For more than a quarter-century, Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has been making investments and building relationships in the West. He bailed out Citigroup, helped refinance the ill-fated Euro Disney and backed Rupert Murdoch during the UK phone-hacking scandal.

Now, as Alwaleed passes a fourth week at a Riyadh hotel, one of hundreds of detainees in an anti-corruption crackdown, almost no one has rallied to his cause. Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist, said in a statement Monday that Alwaleed, 62, has been an “important partner” in their charitable work together. Earlier this month, Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat