HRH Prince Khaled Bin Alwaleed joins us for an informal chat

HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed isa hip, young vegan Saudi Prince who invests in clean energy and supports animal rights.

Earlier this year, his storywas picked up by multiple outlets includingOne Green Planet.This Saudi Royal, now 38, is the son of the 26th wealthiest person in the world (billionaire investor and philanthropistHRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal,often referred to as the Saudi Arabian Warren Buffett).

Part of the Princes journey started when he had a head injury in his teens while jet skiing in the south of France. He had to learn to walk again and witnessed his dad, a person he looked up to as strong and invincible, weep with worry in his hospital room. Somehow, when confronted with the fragility of life and the effect it can have on loved ones, it makes a person realize that being true to ones own self is the only way to live. His social media feeds (Twitter and Instagram) are filled with animal welfare posts, vegan food posts, and in the case of Instagram, plenty of goofy comedy.

Several years ago, Prince Khaled was diagnosed with high cholesterol and started to change his diet. As he began exploring what it meant to adopt a plant-based diet, he became more and more knowledgeable about the challenges our current animal agriculture-based food systems place on personal and animal health and, especially, the environment.

An enthusiastic consumer of media exploring these topics, books such as How Not to Dieby Dr. Michael Greger and documentaries such as An Inconvenient Truth and Before the Floodalso shaped his interests. Born and university-educated in the U.S., he keeps a foot firmly planted in the Middle East.He started his business career withhis fathers investment company, Kingdom Holding Company, and then branched out to start KBW Investments. KBW Investments has holdings on five continents in the areas of construction, property, engineering, automation, finance and hospitality. Following that, he founded KBW Ventures, which focuses exclusively on venture capital, value creation and growth equity.

He is a business leader, not only for the millions he has invested in emerging and established businesses, but for standing in contrast to his home countrys biggest export: oil. He long ago divested any interests in dirty energy and oil, and owns one car, a Tesla.

The weekend that U.S. President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia, Khaled was speaking at a panel and meeting with other plant-based food leaders at the Reducetarian Summit in New York.

For our first meeting, I chose the DC vegan diner that I had mentioned in my article for Triple Pundit about plant-based dairy, Fare Well.

He showed up unaccompanied and actually Ubered to our brunch from the Four Seasons. Of course hes familiar with the famed hotel its management company is 45 percent owned by an investment company controlled by his father. For brunch Khaled wore baggy jeans, black Converse sneakers (he owns a number of pairs) and a hoodie. Doron, the owner of the diner and DCs famed vegan bakery Sticky Fingers was there that day and we cracked jokes. Khaled took it all in, in good humor, and after our meeting, was off to CrossFit and a meeting with some documentary filmmakers.

A month later atthe Reducetarian Summit, he was on a panel discussing conscious capitalism and the role business and investment have in moving the needle towards a more sustainable food system. He talked about his own journey to veganism and told stories like the time he took an omnivorous tennis pro to Cross Roads in LA and didnt tell him it was plant-based until after the meal. He explained that he has taken on the role to bridge the gap and create awareness for the benefits of a plant based lifestyle in the region. He even convinced his father to go vegan.

Khaled greeted me warmly and with familiarity, like friends. Following his session, we stepped outside for an interview. I specifically wanted to explore his involvement in the plant-based food movement and his new involvement with documentary media. This interview has been edited lightly for clarity and length.

TriplePundit: How did the relationship with [vegan chef] Matthew Kenney start? What are your future expansion plans?

Khaled bin Alwaleed: We wanted to open a plant-based caf in the Middle East. Originally, we were looking into a restaurant in Bali, Alchemy, that does plant-based and coincidentally at the same time we heard about Matthew Kenney. He seemed a much better fit. We looked into the licensing fees and I thought Why am I paying him a fee, when I can just invest in the company? We invested and decided to make [Bahrains]Plant Caf a branch of Matthew Kenneys restaurants. Were going to have tenmore in the region by 2019.

3pLast time we met, you mentioned backing a documentary about the plant-based food movement. Tell me about the name of the project and what are the plans for distribution?

KbA: ThatsEating Our Way to Extinction.Were working closely on an agreement with Ludo [Brockway] and his brother to make this film happen, but its early days on that one. They actually just got back from the Arctic where they were shooting some footage, but they havent shot much yet. Its early days. [Ludo and his brother Otto are slated to start shooting in around September 2017 for a 2018 possible release.] Another film were working on, which is further along in production, profiles former UFC fighter James Wilkes, and other elite vegan athletes. Itsa documentary about athleticism and veganism. The filmmakers areclose to finishing and were working with them to see how we can help with distribution.

For both, were looking at online distribution, and for the athleticism one, going through the proper channels of the festivals first as well.

3p:And so this has been in the last year or so that youve begun to get involved with media production?

KbA: The last year? No, this has only been the last two months.

3p: This is exciting, that youre looking towards media because its a big influencer [in lifestyle decisions]?

KbA: Oh, its not just an influencer, its what tipped the point for me. I was on and off being vegan, but it was films like Food, Inc., Food MattersHungry for Change

3p: It changed your life.

KbA: It really did. It opened up my eyes to what exactly is really happening.

3p: How do you think we can work to have a more sustainable food system? People are still starving and others eat far too much of the wrong things- what are your thoughts on how society can address these problems?

KbA: One of the main things, I think, is How do you feed 9.7 billion people by 2050? Thats the biggest issue that food innovators are addressing right now. Companies like Hampton Creek, companies like Memphis Meats are working to solve these problems. The main problem is that governments need to back these initiatives as much as they are backing the animal agriculture industry. There are gross inefficiencies within the animal industry, when you look at calories in versus calories out.

3p: Moving on to tech and innovation, weve talked previously about specifically sustainable hardware companies like iameco computers and Fairphone. As a connoisseur of all things tech, how do you think that the hardware business can become more sustainable? What are your thoughts on innovation toward sustainability in this area?

KbA: I think that companies like Fairphone and Apple each have their own markets and it lies with each company to work to make themselves more sustainable. For example, Apple just did this huge initiative where they took phones and recycled them to make other phones. Id love to see this type of initiative with companies like Samsung and Huawei. Fairphone will continue to grow in its niche market, but you have to address these big companies

3p: Its like shopping- not everyone is going to shop at Whole Foods, you have to address WalMart.

KbA: Exactly, yes.

3p: You have many years left to work with numerous other positive innovators to do even more- what are the kinds of projects that catch your attention and interest?

Khaled bin Alwaleed: Im a big believer in technology. I truly believe that technology is changing and will change the world even further. Im not too big on brick and mortar, analog types of companies as opposed to digital companies. What gets me excited are new things that are changing the world, as clichd as that sounds.

3p: So ideas you havent heard of before?

KbA: Yes, its ideas that make me open my eyes and say Wow, this is actually happening in this world, where we say, we just have to get in there no matter what.

For someone who is equally at home in traditional Saudi attire as he is in a hoodie and baseball cap, Prince Khaleds outlook can be summed up by the quote that greets you when you open his personal website, Never let anyone limit your aspirations.

Photo credits: Lisa Dietrich, Green Product Placement

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