Yasir Al-Rumayyan

Under Al-Rumayyan's chairmanship, with PIF as the main financial backer, LIV Golf spent more than 5 billion dollars before the fund announced in 2026 that it would cease financing the league beyond that season. Al-Rumayyan stepped down as chairman, leaving LIV to seek new capital.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

Not applicable

Attribution

Direct responsibility

PIF, together with Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, acquired Electronic Arts for approximately 55 billion dollars, in what was presented as the largest private equity-financed buyout in history. PIF became by far the dominant shareholder. The transaction raised questions about the influence of a Saudi sovereign wealth fund over a major cultural and technology company, data security, game content, group debt and possible job losses.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

Under Al-Rumayyan's leadership, PIF reassessed its priorities following rising costs at several megaprojects and international investments. Reuters reported a fall of approximately 60% in 2024 net profit, substantial impairments, and subsequently a decline in annualised total shareholder return to 5.8% in 2025 from 7.2% at the end of 2024. The fund also reorganised certain portfolios and gave greater priority to investments with more predictable returns.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

Not applicable

Attribution

Political responsibility

In litigation between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, PIF and its governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan were subject to discovery and deposition requests. In 2025, a US Senate subcommittee report concluded that the threat of discovery had played a central role in opening negotiations leading to the 2023 framework agreement.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

PIF committed 2 billion dollars to Affinity Partners, the fund established by Jared Kushner after leaving the White House. Internal documents showed that the investment screening committee had raised strong concerns about the team's experience, fees, risks and reputational impact. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, PIF's governor, proposed referring the matter to the fund's board, which subsequently approved the transaction. US officials and ethics experts questioned the appearance of possible favouritism or repayment of a favour, given Kushner's previous role in the Middle East.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Members of former Saudi intelligence official Saad Aljabri's family sought to add Al-Rumayyan to civil proceedings in Canada, accusing him of participating, on the Crown Prince's instructions, in a campaign intended to harm the family between 2017 and 2021. The claimants sought approximately 74 million dollars in damages.

State of the evidence

Allegations

Attribution

Directly implicated

Court documents and a Human Rights Watch investigation linked PIF to assets transferred after the 2017 anti-corruption campaign, including companies seized or transferred amid detentions that human rights organisations described as arbitrary and abusive. Documents reported by the press also showed Al-Rumayyan participating in certain transfers of assets to PIF.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

Newcastle United's acquisition by a PIF-led consortium was approved after legally binding assurances that the Saudi state would not control the club. In 2023, US proceedings related to golf described PIF as a sovereign instrument and Al-Rumayyan as a ministerial-level official, reopening debate over the reality of that separation.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Institutional responsibility