Editing Muhammad bin Ladin (section)

== Life ==
Muhammad bin Ladin was born on the [[Hadhramaut|Hadramawt]] coast of south [[Yemen]] to Awad, a [[Kinda (tribe)|Kindite]] [[Hadhrami people|Hadrami]] tribesman from al-Rubat, a village in Wadi Doan. His year of birth is often given as 1905, although this is an approximation at best, as no central government had solidified control over the area at the time and no birth registry existed.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Coll |first1=Steve |title=The Bin Ladens: Oil, Money, Terrorism and the Secret Saudi World |date=5 March 2009 |publisher=Penguin Books Limited |isbn=978-0-14-191778-8 |page=24 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZCS3aIepU0sC |language=en}}</ref> Muhammad's paternal grandfather was Abud, the son of Ali, one of four brothers (the others being Ahmad, Mansur, and Zayd) from whom the four [[bin Laden family|Banu Laden]] clans trace their ancestry.

Poor and uneducated, his family emigrated to [[Tihamah]] before [[World War I]]. According to [[Eric Margolis (journalist)|Eric Margolis]], he initially worked as a porter in [[Jeddah]], like many other impoverished Yemenite emigrants of that time.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Margolis |first1=Eric S. |title=War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir and Tibet |date=2002 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781136743825 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jHwSEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22mohammed+bin+laden%22+jeddah&pg=PT98 |access-date=17 August 2021}}</ref> However, [[Salon.com]] reports that his first job was as a bricklayer with [[Aramco]].<ref name=saud>{{cite news |last1=Burke |first1=Jason |title=The making of Osama bin Laden |url=https://www.salon.com/2001/11/01/osama_profile/ |access-date=17 August 2021 |work=salon.com |date=November 1, 2001}}</ref> In 1931, he started his own construction business and after coming to the attention of [[Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia|Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud]], the first monarch of [[Saudi Arabia]], he eventually achieved such success that his family became known as "the wealthiest non-royal family in the kingdom."

Muhammad bin Ladin strategically built strong ties with the Saudi royal family by actively participating in King [[Ibn Saud|Abdel Aziz]]'s public meetings. Recognizing the aging king's mobility challenges, Muhammad took the initiative to construct a ramp at the palace in [[Jeddah]], allowing the monarch to easily move between the floors in his car.<ref name="Simon and Schuster">{{cite book |last1=Bergen |first1=Peter L. |title=The Rise and Fall of Osama Bin Laden |date=2 August 2022 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-9821-7053-0 |page=9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=anp5EAAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref>

Muhammad's remarkable financial success was ascribed to a shrewd business sense, [[fealty]] to Saudi Arabia's rulers, reliability, and a willingness to offer the lowest bid on construction contracts. By undercutting local construction firms, he had become a multi-millionaire by the 1940s. He cultivated a sizable workforce involved in projects across Saudi Arabia. In 1948, Muhammad scored a major breakthrough by securing a commission to build a palace for the future [[Saud of Saudi Arabia|King Saud]]. In the early 1950s, when a British company withdrew from a contract to construct a crucial road from Jeddah to [[Medina]], Muhammad stepped in to fill the void, solidifying his role as a key player in Saudi Arabia's construction landscape.<ref name=saud /><ref name="Simon and Schuster"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Woolf |first1=Alex |title=Osama Bin Laden |date=1 January 2004 |publisher=Twenty-First Century Books |isbn=978-0-8225-5003-7 |pages=14–16 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ItdH79_rSMC |language=en}}</ref>

As the "royal builder," Muhammad bin Ladin maintained close relationships with the royal family, particularly [[Faisal of Saudi Arabia|Prince Faisal]] of Saudi Arabia. In 1964, Prince Faisal deposed his half-brother, [[Saud of Saudi Arabia|King Saud]], and began rebuilding the kingdom after the wasteful excesses of the Saud era. King Faisal accepted Muhammad bin Ladin's offer of financial assistance to support the national economy and as a reward, King Faisal issued a royal decree awarding all future construction projects to Muhammad bin Ladin's construction company. As a result, bin Laden's company eventually amassed assets in excess of US$5 billion.
He made his initial fortune from exclusive rights to all mosque and other religious building construction in Saudi Arabia and several other Arab countries. Until 1967, Muhammad bin Ladin held exclusive responsibility for restorations at the [[Qibli Mosque|Jami Al-Aqsa]] in [[Jerusalem]].

Despite his royal associations and great wealth, Muhammad bin Ladin lived a relatively simple and devout life, demanding that his children observe a strict religious and moral code. In his later years, the bin Laden corporate network diversified its activities beyond construction, largely in foreign investment and oil.