Robert Lacey
  • Home
  • Biography
  • Books
    • Latest Books

      Battle of Brothers

      June 24, 2021

      Latest Books

      The Crown Volume 2: The Official Companion

      November 19, 2019

      Latest Books

      The Crown: The Official Companion

      October 1, 2017

      8.3
      Latest Books

      Model Woman

      June 16, 2015

      8.3
      Latest Books

      Grace: Her Lives – Her Loves

      June 11, 2014

      Latest Books

      Gulf Charities and Islamic Philanthropy

      March 18, 2014

      Latest Books

      A Brief Life of the Queen

      January 31, 2012

  • News
    • News

      As of 1 January 2023, Robert Lacey is…

      January 4, 2023

      News

      Harry and Meghan? John and Yoko? Spot the difference! 

      December 4, 2022

      News

      The Crown does NOT tell lies

      November 9, 2022

      News

      The Crown: Never a truer word was said…

      November 5, 2022

      News

      Yet another new Prime Minister? ’Dear! Oh, dear!’

      October 21, 2022

      News

      Encounters with Elizabeth What was it like to…

      May 31, 2022

      News

      My kitchen EXPLODED when the Queen came to…

      May 31, 2022

  • Contact

Robert Lacey

  • Home
  • Biography
  • Books
    • Latest Books

      Battle of Brothers

      June 24, 2021

      Latest Books

      The Crown Volume 2: The Official Companion

      November 19, 2019

      Latest Books

      The Crown: The Official Companion

      October 1, 2017

      8.3
      Latest Books

      Model Woman

      June 16, 2015

      8.3
      Latest Books

      Grace: Her Lives – Her Loves

      June 11, 2014

      Latest Books

      Gulf Charities and Islamic Philanthropy

      March 18, 2014

      Latest Books

      A Brief Life of the Queen

      January 31, 2012

  • News
    • News

      As of 1 January 2023, Robert Lacey is…

      January 4, 2023

      News

      Harry and Meghan? John and Yoko? Spot the difference! 

      December 4, 2022

      News

      The Crown does NOT tell lies

      November 9, 2022

      News

      The Crown: Never a truer word was said…

      November 5, 2022

      News

      Yet another new Prime Minister? ’Dear! Oh, dear!’

      October 21, 2022

      News

      Encounters with Elizabeth What was it like to…

      May 31, 2022

      News

      My kitchen EXPLODED when the Queen came to…

      May 31, 2022

  • Contact
News

Why Saudi Arabia’s crown prince should visit Detroit

March 22, 2018
Why Saudi Arabia’s crown prince should visit Detroit

Article published in the Washington Post by Robert Lacey and Jamal Khashoggi.

During his two-week trip to the United States, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (widely known as MBS) will visit Washington, New York, Houston, Boston and his beloved Silicon Valley, where he will seek partners to help liberate his country from its dependence on oil. He could have chosen other destinations — Los Angeles, perhaps, to get some tips on the new entertainment businesses he is hoping to grow in the kingdom. He could have made a stop in Philadelphia to learn what the Founding Fathers had to say on the levying of taxes (another of his welcome innovations), and to see how taxation works only when it is accompanied by popular consent and community participation.

Here’s another suggestion: The young Saudi ruler so keen to redesign his own country should visit Detroit to see how this once-bankrupt city is rebuilding itself.

The city, which in 2013 filed for the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history, was a story of urban deterioration. Now, under the leadership of Mayor Mike Duggan, Detroit has a new streetcar system, dozens of new and renovated apartment complexes, gleaming new sports stadiums, an expansion of Motown’s Hitsville USA museum — and, above all, a fresh “can-do” ethos fostered by the auto giants General Motors and Ford working with the United Auto Workers union.

Last year, Detroit burst into U.S. News & World Report rankings of the 100 best places to live in the United States at No. 89, only one spot below Los Angeles. Increased entrepreneurship has also played a role in its revitalization. Many of the developments in Detroit’s business districts have been driven by the billionaire investor Dan Gilbert. Still, critics would argue that Detroit’s progress has not been inclusive. Sixty percent of young children in the city still live in poverty, and many neighborhoods have not received the same levels of investment as the downtown areas.

Many inner cities in Saudi Arabia fester today as Detroit once did — they are miserable Third World slums that completely mock the oil riches of the kingdom. So, before MBS ventures into building new cities, perhaps he should deal with the old ones. During his visit to Egypt, which kicked off his current global tour, the crown prince revealed his shared dream with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi of building a prosperous region in northern Saudi Arabia stretching across the Gulf of Aqaba to Egypt — a “Riviera of the Red Sea” to attract millions of tourists yearly. Yet since neither Saudi Arabia nor Egypt has a free press, no one asked the two leaders about Egypt’s numerous tourist destinations, such as Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada and El Gouna. All have gorgeous beaches on the very same coast and a chronic lack of tourists; they are sad shadows of the resorts they used to be. Surely that problem should be addressed before splashing out precious government funds on still more cities in the sand.

In 2005, the well-meaning King Abdullah announced the building of six new “Economic Cities” that would provide jobs for 500,000 young Saudis. A dozen years and many billions of dollars later, those “cities” stand virtually empty. The saddest vision of all is the King Abdullah Financial District, a cluster of empty glass towers north of Riyadh where, as of April 2016, “not a single financial institution had agreed to take space in the 73 buildings under construction.” A similar ghost town is rising north of Jeddah. In 2016, MBS complained with characteristic frankness to Bloomberg Businessweek about the waste of public money. But he has since proposed more such projects, including his Red Sea dream zone, which would be partly occupied by robots in a system touted as “the future of human civilization.”

Detroit provides a lesson to MBS: Urban revitalization and recovery are possible, but only when inclusive investment in human capital and jobs are taken as seriously as the construction of beautiful buildings.

History will remember that the crown prince’s 82-year-old father, King Salman, was governor of Riyadh for over four decades, building the Saudi capital outward from its historic core. Mistakes were made — the urban blight in Riyadh today serves as evidence. But on the whole, Salman did well. He brought life into the ancient heart of the capital. If MBS can help ordinary Saudis to rebuild their lives in their existing homes and communities, and provide them with better schools, job training, roads and sanitation, he could realize he might not need to build fancy new cities miles out in the desert.

Jamal KhashoggiSaudi Arabia
2
Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Robert Lacey

previous post
The crown prince doesn’t listen to Saudis – why would he listen to Theresa May?
next post
Was ‘The Crown’ Right About Prince Philip’s Alleged Affair?

You may also like

Harry and Meghan Are Right, and Will Help...

February 28, 2020

Queen Elizabeth & Prince Philip marital row in...

November 16, 2018

‘She has always had this historical perspective about...

May 21, 2020

Rare Details About Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s...

August 28, 2020

‘The Crown’ Season 3

August 2, 2018

My haven

February 15, 2020

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Decision Is ‘Unprecedented...

January 9, 2020

Release the Louis diaries

June 1, 2021

“Queen Cabbage!”

September 19, 2018

Crown Season 2 DVD

November 13, 2018

Robert Lacey

Robert Lacey

British historian and writer

Robert Lacey is a British historian noted for his original research, which gets him close to – and often living alongside – his subjects. He is the author of numerous international bestsellers. lege felicter - may you read happily

Lege feliciter - may you read happily

Follow Robert

Facebook Twitter Instagram

Robert on Instagram

As the Platinum Jubilee begins with news of Camill As the Platinum Jubilee begins with news of Camilla’s elevated status, the Queen, Charles and William are making the big decisions as a trio. 

Robert Lacey writes in @thetimes. Article also on Robert’s website: Robertlacey.com

#robertlacey #platinumjubilee #royalfamily #thequeen
Robert lacey writes for the BBC as The Queen celeb Robert lacey writes for the BBC as The Queen celebrates her #platinumjubilee 

Full article on the BBC website: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60201088
As we approach the 70th anniversary of The Queen’s accession on February 6th, Robert Lacey selects his top pick of books about the Royal Family and The Queen. 

shepherd.com/best-books/about-the-queen

#royalfamily #PlatinumJubilee
Battle of Brothers: William, Harry and the Inside Battle of Brothers: William, Harry and the Inside Story of a Family in Tumult

First published in hardback: 15 October 2020

What drove Prince William and Prince Harry from the closest of brothers into very different, now distanced men? How has the painful, public unravelling of Prince Charles and Diana’s marriage reverberated through generations? What parts have Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle played in helping their husbands to choose divergent paths? And how does the Queen feel, marshalling her feuding heirs and looking ahead to the future of the British monarchy?

Moving and unvarnished, this is the most intimate insight yet of division in the royal family.

#battleofbrothers #royalfamily #harryandmeghan #williamandkate #britishmonarchy #robertlacey #christmasreads
Little Man - Meyer Lansky and the gangster life by Little Man - Meyer Lansky and the gangster life by Robert Lacey in 1991

Little Man is a book about organised crime unlike any other yet written. If, in the mythology of organised crime, Al Capone symbolised the crude menace of the machine gun and the baseball bat, Meyer Lansky stood for the brains, the sophistication, the hot money, the sheer cleverness of it all. This brilliant biography and social history separates the strands of fact and legend in Meyer Lansky’s – the Godfather of Godfathers – career, revealing a truth about the gangster life in America that is far more fascinating and dramatic than fiction.

#biography 
#meyerlansky 
#americanhistory 
#robertlacey
Extracts from Robert Lacey's book "Battle of Broth Extracts from Robert Lacey's book "Battle of Brothers: William, Harry and the Inside Story of a Family in Tumult" are being featured in The Times this week. 

In Today's article Robert Lacey said allegations against the Duchess of Sussex led to a bitter row between brothers who were once inseparable.

You can read the full article from the link in the bio.

#MeghanandHarry
#WilliamandKate
#TheCrown
#BattleofBrothers
#RoyalFamily
Speaking earlier, Robert Lacey said: “Prince Ph Speaking earlier, Robert Lacey said:

“Prince Philip has been such an integral part of our life. Playing such a key role in the life of the nation.

It was no accident that we decided to feature Prince Philip very strongly in the Crown episode about the moon landing – capturing his interests in science and how he came to understand that science can only take you so far. He went on to develop a strong personal religious faith.

He also helped in bringing the monarchy into touch with everyday life in a fresh way. So many of The Queen’s fresh ideas and fresh initiatives came from this remarkable man.

Prince Philip will be remembered for his sardonic smile, hands behind the back, often unfailingly 2 steps behind Her Majesty. Always there in the most supporting sense.”

Photograph from 1972 in Robert Lacey's book Majesty. “Queen Elizabeth was always front, but Prince Philip was always center.”
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

@2022 Robert Lacey, All Rights Reserved | Website by Effra Digital | Sitemap


Back To Top