MADRID: Since Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd arrived for holidays in the luxury seaside resort of Marbella, he has soared to being one of Spain’s top celebrities.
The press is raking up information about the “Thousand And One Nights” lifestyle behind the sealed walls of Fahd’s gold and marble palace, and anyone who has any contact with the popular royal in a western country like Spain — yet all of Marbella just seems to love Fahd.
In reality, however, all the talk about the Saudi monarch focuses on just one thing: how much he spends.
It all started when the head of the world’s largest oil-producing country and his entourage of up to 3,000 relatives, friends and officials landed mid-August at Malaga airport in 12 Boeing planes after spending three months in Switzerland.
They were met by a convoy of 20 luxury limousines and seven trucks to carry luggage.
During his previous visit to the Costa del Sol three years ago, Fahd is estimated to have spent some $70 million.
Three weeks after the king’s arrival, job seekers are still lined up at palace gates, as he reportedly pays cleaning ladies 3,000 euros ($2,984) and drivers 3,600 euros a month.
Fahd’s El Rocio palace in Marbella, built in 1983, is typical of his lifestyle.
With a facade reminiscent of the White House and an interior in the style of Versailles, the palace lies on a property which also comprises a mosque, a clinic, a string of villas and a helicopter pad.
Local business people say the Saudis’ reputation of splashing money around is exaggerated or that they no longer spend as much as they used to — yet there is little doubt that they still do spend.
Their arrival has given a welcome boost to the local economy at a time when tourism was down, and practically every sector has profited.
Bakeries send dozens of cakes to the palace every day, florists fill it with flowers, five-star hotels have lodged hundreds of Saudis in luxury suites and waiters say “Arab princes” give them tips of 600 euros.
Saudis or their assistants turn up at high-priced department stores to buy 200 pairs of shoes or 17 sets of towels. “One Arab client purchased 25 wristwatches for the price of 900 euros each,” a Marbella jeweller told the daily El Pais.
The Marbella municipality — headed by the business-minded populist party GIL — is delighted with the royal guest, and nobody has such bad taste as to compare Fahd’s popularity with the rejection reserved for poor Arab immigrants.
An aircraft was hired to fly above the city to display a banner welcoming “His Majesty”, and there are plans to name two boulevards after members of the Saudi royal family.
The local hospital has reportedly reserved an entire aisle for King Fahd, who is in frail health and has supported the hospital with hefty donations.
Limousines used by Saudis are allowed to park anywhere regardless of traffic rules, and 50 police are working as bodyguards for Saudis for a monthly salary of 4,800 euros despite their double employment being against the law, press reports said.
“It’s the king’s money, and he may spend it as he likes,” shrugged a spokesman for a large department store.
The Saudi royal family has been accused of displaying its wealth to divert attention from the country’s problems.
But as long as the money keeps flowing, Marbella could not care less, and the city is overjoyed that King Fahd plans to stay at least until October.—dpa