Is MBS trolling Biden? Or just defending Saudi interests?

IT IS as though the Jun 4 decision by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) – to cut oil production to help lift prices – was not enough to show that he was thumbing his nose at US President Joe Biden.

Then came the announcement, on Jun 6, of a merger between LIV Golf, launched by Saudi Arabia in October 2021 by its US$620 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF), and PGA Tour and Europe’s DP World Tour. The PGA had earlier accused the LIV of trying to “buy” the game of golf. After a series of lawsuits and countersuits by both sides, they decided to settle their dispute and merge, with the PIF making a huge capital infusion into the new entity.

This puts MBS – who, to recall, had been bashed as a leader of a “pariah” nation by Biden after the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 – at the top of the world; a big winner whether it comes to the game of golf or to the global energy markets.