Shaun KingVerified account

. @sethbannon hey man. Unbelievable that you are still going to the Saudi investment conference after all of the new evidence that has been released.

Appreciate this @shaunking. Want to explain why I'm planning on attending the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh. 1st, it's worth saying that the PIF nor any other Saudi fund is an investor of ours. Going last year was driven by optimism around MBS's reforms, not finances. /1

Second, it's worth noting that MBS has been implementing reforms & quickly, much to the dismay of the conservative elements in Saudi society. He's risked his own power and security in doing so, and to me it seems like he's pushing forward because he believes it's what's right. /2

Some reforms he's already pushed through: lifting the ban on women driving, reigning in the religious police, allowing female singers to perform in public, lifting the ban on women attending mix-gendered cultural events, promoting women in the workplace. /3

In addition to those social reforms, through his Vision 2030 initiative, he's pushing to diversify the Saudi economy away from environmentally destructive oil extraction (currently making up about 40% of GDP) and towards more sustainable directions. /4

Last year at the event I had the chance to see him speak and meet him briefly, and I got the impression he's a young reformist leader pushing that forward in good faith -- not easy when you have so many powerful conservative elements entrenched in society. /5