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- Saudi Prince Loses $423M; $15 for $2.5B Binance Hack; Bye LIV Golf
Saudi Prince Loses $423M; $15 for $2.5B Binance Hack; Bye LIV Golf
AI, tech, startup and business stories from the Arab world. For the driven, the dreamers and the doers
Saturday, November 7, 2026
Happy Saturday everyone!
Saudi Arabia is pulling the plug on LIV Golf after investing more than $5 billion in the breakaway league, which is now preparing for an orderly wind-down following a failed $300 million rescue deal. Elsewhere, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal lost $423 million as a global tech selloff hammered Musk-linked stocks, while Elon Musk's fortune took a major hit. In crypto, hackers behind Binance's record-breaking theft paid just $15 in network fees to move $2.5 billion in a single transaction.
Markets
EGX30 | 51.152.73 | Closed |
DFMGI | 6,025.55 | 0.283% |
ADX | 9,392.60 | 1.336% |
Tadawul | 10,095.42 | Closed |
Saudi Prince Alwaleed Loses $423 Million As Musk-Linked Stocks Sink In Global Selloff
What Happened
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal lost $423 million, or 1.7%, as a sharp selloff hit US tech stocks. His fortune now stands at $24.5 billion, No. 99 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The Nasdaq fell 5.5% and the S&P 500 fell 4.4%. SpaceX, his second-largest holding at $5.11 billion, closed down 9%, while Tesla fell nearly 11%. Elon Musk lost $79.7 billion, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang dropped from ninth to 13th, and Larry Ellison lost $10.1 billion.
Why It Matters
Alwaleed’s wealth is heavily tied to Musk’s empire through Kingdom Holding, his $9.38 billion core asset, and his SpaceX stake. The rout shows how quickly political shifts and AI valuations can move fortunes. The world’s 500 richest people lost $185 billion in a single day. Musk had spent nearly half a billion dollars backing Republicans in the midterms, yet Democrats swept the elections, and investors reacted sharply.
What's Next
Investors fear a Democratic-controlled Congress will tighten scrutiny of Starlink and Musk’s AI data center projects. One senator has already warned of subpoenas. Analysts also see risk to a possible Tesla-SpaceX merger. Alwaleed’s fortune remains up $7.61 billion, or 45.1%, from a year ago, but further volatility in Musk-linked shares could keep pressuring his ranking.
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Hackers Paid Just $15 to Steal $2.5 Billion in Binance's Record Crypto Heist
What Happened
Hackers behind the $6.3 billion Binance theft paid just $15 in Ethereum network fees to move $2.5 billion in cryptocurrency in a single transaction. According to security firm Blockaid, they exploited an Ethereum feature that allows software to move funds on behalf of a crypto wallet. The attackers reportedly gained access by tricking a Binance engineer into downloading malicious code through fake job postings.
Why It Matters
The attackers used the feature to bypass the need for multiple individual transactions, moving around 40% of the stolen cryptocurrency in one go. The total theft reached approximately $3.6 billion, making it the largest cryptocurrency heist on record. The incident highlights how features designed to simplify crypto transactions can create major security risks.
What's Next
Binance says it has rebuilt the affected wallet infrastructure, strengthened monitoring and introduced stricter security controls. The exchange also says customer funds remain protected and it has absorbed the financial impact. The FBI has attributed the attack to North Korea, although Pyongyang has denied involvement.
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Saudi-Backed LIV Golf To Wind Down After $5 Billion Investment And Failed Rescue Deal
What Happened
LIV Golf will begin an orderly wind-down after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund withdrew its financial backing and a $300 million rescue deal collapsed. The league confirmed it could not secure the funding needed to stage tournaments beyond the 2026 season. PIF has invested more than $5 billion in the breakaway golf circuit since its launch in 2022.
Why It Matters
LIV Golf disrupted professional golf by offering leading players huge signing bonuses, guaranteed prize money and a new tournament format. It attracted major names including Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson. However, its expensive business model struggled to become financially sustainable. The collapse also marks a major setback for Saudi Arabia's ambitions to reshape global professional golf.
What's Next
LIV Golf says it will remain open to third-party offers during the liquidation process to maximise the value of its assets. Several players are already reconsidering their futures. Jon Rahm has announced plans to leave LIV and return to the DP World Tour in 2027. Meanwhile, the PGA Tour says former LIV players could face a one-year ban from their last appearance on the circuit.
👨💻From Smashi Business’ Desk
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) CEO Mohammed Saif Al-Sowaidi has publicly addressed the sovereign wealth fund’s participation in the $110 billion Skydance-Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery deal for the first time.
Egyptian-American creator Kareem, the man behind viral interview series @subwaytakes, has been named one of just 25 winners of the 2026 Instagram Rings Awards.
A $12 chicken sandwich has sparked a debate over wealth and inequality in Lebanon.
An Islamic brokerage founder says Anthropic wouldn’t make the cut on his app.
An Emirati AI company has outperformed Microsoft, ElevenLabs, Google and OpenAI in Arabic speech recognition accuracy.
🔍In other news…
GCC rejects US claim Hormuz could become ‘worthless’
Aramco's Q3 profit rises by a third despite attacks
Saudi Arabia Pushes Ahead With IPO Rule Changes Despite Banker Warnings
Dubai's Emaar plans offer to buy out construction arm in $3.4 billion deal
US President Donald Trump says Washington will stop giving Israel $4 billion annually after this year.
UN shipping chief criticises huge payouts for crews risking Hormuz
UAE Citizen CZ Says ‘I Don’t Make Threats’ After Musk Trolls Binance Hack
Lebanese Dating App Taaruf Reaches 80,000 Monthly Users, Lands $400,000 Shark Tank Offer
🦄 World of Startups
NoorNation: Egypt-based cleantech startup NoorNation raised $1.05 million in seed funding from Linah Farms, Catalyst Fund and KBW Ventures to expand its solar-powered irrigation and desalination solutions.
Silkhaus: UAE-based short-term rental startup Silkhaus is winding down its holiday-home business in the country, with owner agreements set to end on November 11, 2026.
MNT-Halan: Egyptian fintech MNT-Halan received a $71.2 million capital injection from its parent company, MNT Investments BV, increasing the parent’s stake to 80.47% shortly after the fintech’s $139.5 million IPO.
Alpha Dhabi: UAE-based Alpha Dhabi Holding committed $1 billion to Alpha Wave III, a global investment fund managed by Alpha Wave Global that focuses on high-growth companies, with AI at its core.
Mubadala Capital: UAE-based Mubadala Capital secured a minority equity investment from US asset manager Apollo Global Management, which manages $1.05 trillion in assets, with the investment value undisclosed.
