$650B Fund Managing Sheikh Found Dead
The body of the Abu Dhabi royal who oversaw the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, the $650 billion Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, was pulled out of a Moroccan lake four days after his glider vanished last week. Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, younger brother of the United Arab Emirate’s ruler, was ranked #27 on Forbes list of the world’s most powerful people, the Telegraph notes.
According to the Telegraph:
Sheikh Ahmed took control of ADIA in 1997 where he was described as “very hands on” in investment decisions. The sovereign wealth fund’s most high-profile investment was a stake of about 4pc in Citigroup.
It invested $7.5bn into the US investment bank in November 2007 at the beginning of the financial crisis, and as the economic situation worsened the relationship soured.
Last year ADIA filed an arbitration claim against Citi, alleging it was the victim of “fraudulent misrepresentations” at the time of the investment. ADIA alleges that the numbers Citi gave it were incorrect. Citi says the claims are without merit.
The ADIA had also recently acquired a 15 percent interest in Gatwick airport.
Although considered very private, Sheikh Ahmed was a fierce proponent of transparency in sovereign funds. According to the Telegraph, the ADIA co-chaired a group of powerful funds that penned the so-called so-called San Diego Principles, the first code of conduct for sovereign wealth funds.
Sheikh Ahmed was 40 years old and had no deputy director. However, sources close to the fund said that a succession plan is being worked on.
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