and this is his motorcade his plane and his entourage each year the President of
the United States carries out many foreign trips to countries around the
world to ensure that he remains safe in every corner of the globe
The Secret Service executes carefully thought-out
elaborate plans that involve enormous amounts of resources and a world-class
logistics network if there's another person on this earth who enjoys a
similar treatment then perhaps it's King Salman of Saudi Arabia as the king of
one of the richest monarchies in the world with an estimated combined wealth
exceeding a trillion dollars King Salman travels big wherever he goes dozens of
aircraft hundreds of luxury vehicles and thousands of assistants family members
and servants accompany the King on each trip to make sure that it feels like
he's home while he's traveling abroad while the American Secret Service aims
for maximum security of the president the Saudi Arabian royal house strives
for the luxury and the comfort of their King 2017 was an action-packed year for
the Saudi King and his Prince's in March the Saudi King Salman private 747 jets
touched down in Indonesia for the beginning of a lavish nine-day tour it
was the first time a Saudi King had visited the country for such diplomatic
reasons in 46 years and the event drew massive media attention however it
wasn't the purpose of the trip that they were interested in it was the shocking
fashion Salman showed up in nothing compares to King Salman's private 747
owned by the Saudi royal family and kitted out with everything needed for
long-haul trips of incredible grandeur in addition to two Boeing 747
the Saudi Arabian royal flight operates a Boeing 757-200 a 777-300 a 787 8 and
an Airbus a340 200 for use by King Salman only the Crown Prince MBS and
other royal family members have their own planes at their disposal the boeing
747-400 as a commercial airliner is one of the largest passenger aircraft
capable of accommodating more than 600 passengers now imagine the same aircraft
decorated as a private plane featuring superfluous decorations
expensive leather seats conference rooms staterooms and bathrooms with showers
and you're looking at nothing less than a palace in the sky even the richest and
most influential leaders in the world choose to travel in much smaller
aircraft for better mobility and lower cost but for King Salman the larger the
plane the more luggage it can accommodate a mind-boggling 506 tons of
cargo were arranged and transported for the flight carried to Indonesia in seven
large transport aircraft including a c-130 Hercules and more Boeing 747s
following behind him was a horde of 1,500 people and 36 flights over a
period of three weeks were required to bring them to Indonesia King Salman
magnificently descended from his aircraft in two golden freestanding
escalators King Salman went on to tour Indonesia in the lap of luxury riding in
two mercedes-benz at six hundreds and even requesting a custom toilet to be
built for him inside a mosque such was the level of excess that the air freight
company reportedly used five hundred and seventy two workers to transport the
cargo an astronomical coordinated effort it was not the first time the king of
Saudi Arabia had taken comfort and extravagance to the next level during
his tour in Japan he ordered a gargantuan fleet of 500 limousines
gathering such an enormous number of luxury cars was no
small feat it required the automobiles to be carried in from all over the
country to take care of accommodation he went on a booking spree taking more than
1200 rooms in Tokyo's best hotels and in France he was driven away in a grand
motorcade his road processions have been grander and more eye-catching than most
presidents speaking of presidents when King Salman flew to Moscow to meet with
Russian President Putin becoming the first Saudi monarch to do so he brought
nearly 2,000 pounds of food and even his own furniture and carpets accompanying
him on this fantastic affair were an estimated 25 Saudi princes hauling their
own cargo and wealth with them when the group arrived in the city they went
overboard on accommodations booking out two entire hotels permanent residents
were vacated and guests had their stays abruptly canceled it cost King Salman
around 3 million dollars just for a few nights but of course he paid the sum
without batting an eyelash despite all of these preparations the king had to go
through excruciating discomfort and embarrassment when his multi-million
dollar golden escalator malfunctioned in the middle and he had to descend the
steps on his own King Salman has been known for taking his palace with him
wherever he goes when the King traveled to Washington DC in 2014 he booked the
entire two hundred and twenty-two rooms of the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel in
Georgetown the hotel was ordered to do some serious redecorating with items
sent from Saudi Arabia in multiple aircraft everything was turned gold gold
mirrors gold end tables gold lamps even gold hat racks all carpets were turned
red and there were carpets laid down even in the lower parking garage so the
King never had to touch asphalt following in his father's footsteps when
the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman the next in line to the throne made a trip
to Los Angeles he rented the entire 285 rooms
The Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills racking up two million dollars in
nightly costs at the property everything from decorations to music to the menu
was overhauled to give a Saudi tastes surprisingly he didn't even stay at the
hotel he nested in a private residential place while the hotel was mainly used by
his entourage another story of the crown prince's fabulous displays of wealth was
when he completely booked out three entire island resorts in the Maldives at
a cost of 30 million dollars in 2014 arriving in a luxury yacht with
practically a small army of bodyguards this excessive booking outraged many
holidaymakers who believe the Saudi King was unnecessarily intruding on and
for an even higher price but due to some unknown reasons the project could not be
completed the a380 is still sitting on Airbus property somewhere in France
without the interiors uproar and controversy have been raging on social
media since 2017 when the lavish lifestyle of the Saudi Arabian royal
family caught people's attention and online users were quick to compare it to
the horrible situation in war-torn Yemen but even the trillion-dollar rulers of
one of the world's biggest exporters of oil are not free from discomfort it's
been estimated that as many as 150 Saudi princes contracted the corona virus in
Europe and brought it back to their country recently forcing the King to go
into isolation these events have caused a great deal of attention but it doesn't
look as if the Saudi Arabian royal family is gonna stop anytime soon