Saudi Arabia: Comeback

At the lowly art of bookkeeping, King Saud of Saudi Arabia is no match for his more cultivated younger brother, the lean and able Crown Prince Feisal. Two years ago, after Saud's munificent handouts to himself and some 300 assorted princes of the realm had brought even oil-rich Saudi Arabia deeply into debt, an angry family council forced the King to hand over the effective reins of government to Feisal. Under the guidance of experts on loan from the International Monetary Fund, Feisal proceeded to balance the budget by severe maneuvers, even slashing the allowances of pampered princelings and forbidding,...

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