沙特王子阿尔瓦利德·本·塔拉尔近日向伦敦高级法院对《福布斯》杂志提起诽谤诉讼请求，称该杂志低估了其资产总额。在《福布斯》杂志公布的2013年全球富豪榜上，阿尔瓦利德以200亿美元的资产总额排在第26位，但他本人表示其资产总额应该为296亿美元，并指责该杂志对沙特阿拉伯公司有偏见。
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Alwaleed, who is often described as the most influential businessman in the Middle East
Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed
bin2 Talal, one of the world's wealthiest businessmen who owns assets including London's Savoy hotel, has launched a
libel action（诽谤诉讼） against the business magazine Forbes over claims it underestimated his fortune by $9.6bn.
Alwaleed, who is often described as the most influential businessman in the Middle East,
vowed3 to
sever4（断绝） ties with Forbes in March when its
coveted5 annual Rich List valued him at $20bn – placing him as the 26th most wealthy billionaire on the planet.
The prince insisted he was worth closer to $30bn and accused the respected US magazine of being "demonstrably
biased6" against Saudi Arabian firms.
Now Alwaleed has taken his complaints about the magazine to the high court in London, filing a
defamation7（诽谤，中伤） claim against the Forbes publisher, its editor Randall Lane and two of its journalists, according to court documents seen by the
Guardian8.
Through his Saudi-based investment vehicle, Kingdom Holding, Alwaleed owns large stakes in Apple, Twitter and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation and has built a formidable property
portfolio9, including the Savoy Hotel in London and the
Plaza10 in New York.
Alwaleed is known for his opulent lifestyle – a gold throne sits in the centre of his private Boeing 747 jet,
dubbed11 "the flying palace" – but his displays of
grandeur12 rarely spill into public disputes with the media.
Forbes said it calculated his fortune based on the
underlying13 value of Kingdom Holding's investments, rather than the price of its shares on the Saudi stock exchange, the Tadawul. The magazine said the company's share price
inexplicably14 rose each year as it was compiling data for its Rich List and quoted a former Alwaleed executive who described the Tadawul as a
gambling15 site.
Forbes also claimed it had been subject to "
intermittent16 lobbying, cajoling and threatening" by Alwaleed's
coterie17 of
advisors18 in a bid to boost his ranking on the annual list.
In a Sunday Telegraph interview last month, the 58-year-old attacked Forbes and said: "They are accusing me of market manipulation. I am not pursuing it because of my wealth, but because they are accusing Saudi Arabia of being manipulated because we have no casinos. This is unacceptable."
Forbes said in a statement in response to the libel action: "We're very surprised at claims that Prince Alwaleed has
decided19 to sue Forbes, particularly if he has done so in the United Kingdom, a
jurisdiction20 that has nothing
whatsoever21 to do with our recent story which raised questions about his claims about his wealth.
"The Prince's suit would be
precisely22 the kind of libel tourism that the UK's recently-passed libel reform law is intended to
thwart23. We would anticipate that the London high court will agree. Forbes stands by its story."
Legal experts said Alwaleed will have to prove that his reputation in England and Wales suffered "serious harm", if the
lawsuit24 is eventually tried at the high court. He will also have to show that the Forbes publication caused Kingdom Holding serious financial loss.
Richard Green, a partner and head of regulation at the law firm Hill Dickinson, said the case would cement London's reputation as the libel capital of the world. "While I accept that Forbes magazine is published in England and Wales both in hard copy and on the internet, it is difficult to see why this is the most appropriate
forum25 for the case other than its perceived pro-claimant reputation," he added.
"Libel tourism is common and is widely credited with damaging freedom of speech in the defendant's home jurisdiction."
However, Sarah Webb, a partner at law firm Payne Hicks Beach, said Alwaleed has a "substantial international reputation" but added that there were protections for media
defendants26 to prevent so-called libel tourism.
"He will have to satisfy the court that England and Wales is clearly the more appropriate forum for his dispute and this will tie in again to the 'serious harm' test [to his reputation]," she said.
A spokesman for Kingdom Holding said Alwaleed was "examining all of his legal options" but declined to comment further. Kobre and Kim, the law firm
acting27 for Alwaleed in the claim, declined to comment.
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