In its second ownership change in eight months, London’s Savoy Hotel has been sold to the world’s fourth richest man. Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal teamed up with British hotel firm HBOS to buy the property from a consortium of Irish investors.
The Talal-led venture reportedly paid 250 million BP (or roughly 1 million BP per room) for the Savoy.
Fairmont Hotels will assume management of the Savoy, renaming the property "The Savoy, a Fairmont Hotel". Prince Talal—whose net worth is estimated at 12 billion BP—owns a stake in Fairmont.
With the Savoy acquisition, Talal owns a growing collection of luxury hotels such as the George V hotel in Paris and New York’s Plaza Hotel. He is reportedly eyeing Paris’ InterContinental hotel located near the Louvre. Talal is the single largest largest shareholder in Citigroup, Inc.
The Savoy was built in 1889 in the heart of London’s Strand neighborhood. The 263-room property overlooks the Thames. Winston Churchill lived at the Savoy temporarily during World War II, occupying the River Suite.