#109: Khaled bin Alwaleed - The Prince of Plants
We've had doctors, athletes, and celebrities on this show, but today, we can say for the first time, that we get to welcome a real-life PRINCE to the PLANTSTRONG podcast. Khaled bin Alwaleed is a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family who makes his living as a venture capitalist - supporting and investing in green businesses, changing technologies, and sustainable solutions for our health and the environment.
Khaled spoke in person at Plant-Stock about four years ago and shared his life-changing Galileo moment when he saw his health come full-circle with the health of our planet. It's an empowering story that he shares again in this interview.
Wealth can certainly provide a lot of things, but it can’t buy personal health or compassion. Those come from within and THIS is how Khaled operates - from his desire and obligation to make a positive difference because, as he says, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
It’s this responsibility that drives him to invest in people and companies that align with his values - that is to say - values that protect the planet, animals, and improve personal health because, at the end of the day, health is the REAL wealth.
Episode Resources
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About Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed
As a figure of business, technology enthusiast, and investor, Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud is a firm proponent of clean energy, healthy living, the humane treatment of animals, and a motivated voice for Middle East entrepreneurs.
A member of the Saudi Arabian royal family, Khaled was born in California and spent his youth in Riyadh under the mentorship of his father, philanthropist HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, Chairman and founder of Kingdom Holding Company.
Today, with holdings on three continents, Khaled stands at the gateway between the Middle East’s evolving economies and the Western world. He invests in an array of successful, but diverse global businesses—from promising technology startups to established companies in the construction sector. Consistently, his focus is on ventures and ideas at the intersection of innovation and economic stability. Khaled is the founder and Chairman of KBW Investments (KBW) and works across several tiers and levels of the business.
Full Transcript
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
My aha moment was really connecting all the dots together. And then going about 99% full circle. And I say 99% full circle because not a lot of people get that it's not only for your health. It's not only for the animals. But if you tie everything together with the environment then it all plays a complete role, so to speak. And sure enough, it's one part of the environment that I'm working on lessening my carbon footprint, but there are other ways that I'm trying to do that too.
Rip Esselstyn:
Season three of the PLANTSTRONG podcast explores those Galileo moments where you seek to understand the real truth around your health. And dare to see the world through a different lens. This season we honor those courageous seekers who are paving the way for you and me. So grab your telescope, point it towards your future and let's get PLANTSTRONG together.
Rip Esselstyn:
Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of the PLANTSTRONG podcast. I'm Rip Esselstyn, your host. And we have had a doozy of a last couple weeks. Between the Delta variant that is just tearing through this country and Ida that just made its way through Louisiana and then up into the Northeast. Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, New York City. It is nuts what we are being put through. It really, it feels like we're being put through the ringer. And everybody that's out there, do your best to keep the faith and know that things will get better.
Rip Esselstyn:
Now moving on to the podcast. I must say that my favorite aspect of hosting this podcast is having the honor of introducing you to real change makers and leaders who literally light the way for the rest of us in our journey to healthy PLANTSTRONG living. It's by their example that we get to experience the infinite possibilities with wondrous, amazing plants. Now, as you know, I've had doctors, athletes and actors on the show. But today I can say for the first time I get to welcome a real life prince to the PLANTSTRONG podcast. His name is Khaled bin Alwaleed. He's a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family, who makes his living as a venture capitalist supporting and investing in green businesses and technologies.
Rip Esselstyn:
I first met Khaled about four years ago when he flew over and spoke at Plant-Stock, on the Esselstyn family farm. And his Galileo moment that he's going to share with you today, it stuck with me then. And I know it will resonate with you today because you see wealth, it can certainly provide a lot of things, but it can't buy health or compassion. Those come from within and this is where Khaled operates from. His desire and obligation to make a positive difference for the planet because he knows firsthand that your health is your wealth. And as he says, "With great power comes great responsibility," and that it's this responsibility that drives him to invest in people and companies that align with his values. Values that protect the planet, the animals and improve our personal health.
Rip Esselstyn:
Khaled is a self-proclaimed geek, animal lover, and as I like to say, prince of plants. Enjoy.
Rip Esselstyn:
All right. I want the welcome Khaled bin Alwaleed. I should say Price Khaled bin Alwaleed. I know, you're way too humble and modest.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Yeah
Rip Esselstyn:
To the PLANTSTRONG podcast. This is season three of the PLANTSTRONG podcast. And this is the first time I've ever had a prince on the podcast. I've had doctors, scientists. I've had firefighters, athletes. So this is a novel moment. And you're obviously a very special person, so thank you for being on the podcast.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
No, I'll tell you what, the bar is going to be pretty low if you're going to consider this being a prince.
Rip Esselstyn:
Well, I'm going to come at you here though because I told my family last at dinner that I was going to have you on the podcast today, and is there any questions that you'd like for me to ask Khaled. And my daughter Sophie was like, "I just want to know what in the world it's like to be a prince." So you've probably been a prince your whole life, correct?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Yes. Pretty much, yes.
Rip Esselstyn:
So pretty much. Yeah. And maybe from your vantage point it's just so part of who you are, but I'm just wondering what's it like?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Honestly, it really revolves around parenthood and how ones been raised. I've been raised in a way that there is absolutely no difference between me and anyone else and between our family and anyone else's family. I was lucky enough to be blessed to have the opportunity to have parents who are who they are. My father's a renowned investor. My mom, daughter of a past king of Saudi Arabia, but regardless of that there was never a point in time where we lived the expected that type of lifestyle. It was always been where there's never been any difference between my family and anyone else's family, between myself and anyone else. And that's the way we were raised really.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
I remember my mom... Actually, where I live right now in this house in Riyadh, this is where I grew up. And my mom would be walking around the premises and she'd know people by their first name. So we had back then a bunch of workers that we had and she'd know everyone by their first name. And she'd visit wherever they were living and make sure that they had everything that they needed. And likewise, they would talk to her back and forth. It was never that Downton Abbey type of environment.
Rip Esselstyn:
Right, right, right, right, right. Right. Nice. Nice. Well, so we first met, Khaled, in 2017. You came to our annual Plant-Stock event at the Esselstyn Farm.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Yup.
Rip Esselstyn:
In Upstate New York. And I can remember hearing that you were this plant based guy from Saudi Arabia doing amazing things. And I was like, "Ah man, it would be great to get him over to Plant-Stock," and so on a wing and a prayer, I shot you a nice little note. I think it might have been on Instagram. Or, not Instagram, on LinkedIn. And you got back to me and you said that you would be honored to come over and be part of Plant-Stock and give a keynote address. And it was fantastic. You came over I think with a buddy or yours. And you flew coach, right?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
I remember it like yesterday. Flew business, but yeah, it was from Turkey. It was brutal, but it was worth it... It was worth it.
Rip Esselstyn:
Yeah. And it was quite a weekend. And you were so low-key and humble. And it meant a lot to have there, so again, thanks.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
No, I'll tell you what man. I can't thank you enough for the opportunity to have me then and there. I had such an amazing time in the family house and meeting the family. Meeting everyone over there, especially obviously your dad, but everyone over there was just amazing. And I can't wait to do it again and again.
Rip Esselstyn:
Good. Good, good, good. So season three of the PLANTSTRONG podcast, what we're focusing in on with the people I'm interviewing is what was your aha moment? What was your Galileo moment where you kind of looked through that telescope and you saw the truth when it came to plants, or whatever it was, that kind of got you onto this path that has really forever impacted your journey? I'd love for you to share that.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Sure. So like many people I want to say, it really started with health issues. I had high cholesterol, high fat on my liver and stuff like that. And stuff I didn't even know existed. When I went to the doctor and got a blood test and they told me I had a fatty liver, it didn't even occur to me what the heck that was. But then they put me on cholesterol meds. And the side effects of those things were just brutal. My knees and my joints started hurting everything. And I started thinking there has to be a better way, but then I just gave up because this was hereditary. This is the tale that we've all been told. It's hereditary, my dad and my mom, my grandfather, everybody's had cholesterol. Uncles. So I'm going to have high cholesterol by default for sure.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
So I pretty much gave up. And my family member just told me that, "Listen, you have to work on a plant based diet. You have to just try that and just see for yourself." Sure enough I tried that for about six or seven months. I forget how long it was just before I took my second test. And the doctor was surprised. Doctor was like, "Listen, these meds are working. Keep going," you know? I'm like, "Well, doctor I got some news for you, I haven't been on your meds for eight months now," six, seven, eight months, something like that. And he did not believe me at all. He said, "There's no way that this could happen." But anyway, regardless of that, I said, "Well, that's fine. I'm not going to convince you, you're not going to convince me. So I'm just going to part ways. I'm just going to live my life the way I think I should be living my life."
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
And slowly but surely my aha moment was seeing the level of cholesterol. Seeing the level of blood pressure go down to normal levels. But then tying of food with my every day life and see what the by-products of food relate to whether it's clothes. Whether it's... I don't know, a leather couch and stuff like that. And then I started connecting the dots together and then it just became full circle. It's not just for health anymore. It really is more of a cruelty-free type of work ethic and life ethic that I wanted to adopt. And sure enough, I went from being vegan to being whole food, plant based. I have my cheat days, so I'd have a Beyond burger, an Impossible Burger once in a while. And that's my cheat day. But other than that, I mean Gardein too, Tofurky, the other big products.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
But other than that, my aha moment was really connecting all the dots together. And then going about 99% full circle. And I say 99% full circle because not a lot of people get that it's not only for your health. It's not only for the animals. But if you tie everything together with the environment then it all plays a complete role so to speak. And sure enough, it's one part of the environment that I'm working on lessening my carbon footprint. But there are other ways that I'm trying to do that too.
Rip Esselstyn:
All right. We'll get back to Khaled in just a moment. But gang, if you're listening to this between September 9th and September 12, 2021, I want to invite you to hop into our livestream event that's going on right now. It's the 10th anniversary of Plant-Stock. It is the perfect event to help you start or strengthen your plant based lifestyle. This year we've assembled the brightest luminaries in the movement and we've invited them to share the latest research and evidence that definitively points that our best defense against chronic Western disease is of course, the power of plants. Every ticket is going to receive video access to watch the talks again and again. Plus every attendee will receive exclusive discounts and be part of our special community. I would encourage you to join today at plantstrong.com/plant-stock.
Rip Esselstyn:
And if you haven't heard the news yet, I am over the moon excited to announce that the Rip's Big Bowl cereal is back. I eat this breakfast every day and our new and improved varieties taste insane. You won't believe how satisfying it is to start your day with this bowl of wholegrain goodness. Learn more at plantstrongfoods.com.
Rip Esselstyn:
I know at Plant-Stock you shared a story that was pretty impactful and profound, and that was when you went on that trophy hunt. And how that affected you. Can you share that story?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Oof. Yeah. When was that... That was 2002, 2003. And I went on one of those hideous and disgusting hunts. And I remember just the day after that thinking, "What in the world did I just participate in?" And it really never dawned to me until a few years later, because I only did it once. But until a few years later when I started thinking about my health, thinking about the clothes that I wear. And thinking of the hypocrisy that I would disregard a chicken's life or a cow's life and totally put a lot of stock into a lion's life. Or another predatory animal's life.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
And then I just connected both together. And to me that was a profound moment where I cannot emphasize enough how bad I feel of what I participated in. And every single day of my life I remember that I have to make up for what I've done. And I know I'll never be able to do that until even after I die. But I'll work my ass off to better the wrongs that I've done. I'm investing in the right companies I hope. I'm pushing the right messages when it comes to animal cruelty, all types of animal cruelty. When it comes to trophy hunting or a piece of chicken on your plate, to other factors.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
I'm telling you Rip... I get super... Sorry. I get super emotional when it comes to stuff like that and I feel horrible about that. But again, I'm working day in and day out to right the wrong that I did.
Rip Esselstyn:
Well, I think that the emotion that you're feeling right now is also one of the things that's driving you to do all the good you're doing right now. With your power and with your wealth and all the responsibility that, as you said at Plant-Stock, comes with that. And so, I mean think about it. If you wouldn't have gone on that you wouldn't be doing all the good you're doing right now probably. It wouldn't have impacted you like it has.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
At least maybe the drive. I agree what you're saying, at least the drive that I have, and conviction that I have, of me being on the right path. And me pushing as hard as I can in the right ways to help people understand that there is a difference between a few seconds of cravings that you can have for a piece of flesh. Or to substitute that with the plant based alternative and hopefully cellular agriculture products that we'll have in the near future.
Rip Esselstyn:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). I would imagine your father and your mother and your family, they must be so proud of what you're doing and the path that you've chosen and the impact that you're making. Do you feel that from them?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
You know it's funny, I obviously get that a lot from your mom. So I get that a lot from my mom. Biggest cheerleader and the biggest inspiration for me to be honest. And motivator to be honest. But yeah, I get that a lot from her. Obviously family pushes me forward a lot. My father does once in a while give me this positive note of the right stuff that I'm doing. And he comes obviously from 100% financial background. So I tend to have a more subjective approach when it comes to investing in general, but specifically when I go to invest in plant based products.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
So there are products that I've turned down and said, "I can't invest in this," because either they're not ready or I didn't get along with management. Or I didn't believe in the products or stuff like that. But that mindset I believe comes from him. And that's where I get a lot of my inspiration. A lot of my drive to financially invest in companies for a financial reason, not just for sentimental or purpose driven.
Rip Esselstyn:
You spoke about your mother being one of your biggest cheerleaders. You know my mom is pretty much like that too. And I spoke to her yesterday and I let her know that we'd be talking today. And she of course wanted... Both my mother and father, wanted me to tell you hello.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Yeah.
Rip Esselstyn:
And my mother also said how one of her favorite memories of Plant-Stock was sitting up late at night in the kitchen talking to you and just peppering you with questions.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
That was so much fun, I enjoyed it. And I was bombarding the family with questions too, but it was a fun interaction with the family. I absolutely loved it.
Rip Esselstyn:
What's the dietary culture like in Saudi Arabia? Is meat one of the cornerstones of most meals?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Meat is, 100%. Yeah, meat it's really goat, lamb and obviously now with the influx of the wonderful, lovely American diet, we're seeing burgers everywhere. So obviously cow and meat everywhere. So, beef. We're getting a lot of that here. And sadly, Saudi is amongst the top most obese countries in the world. And ranks in the top countries for diabetes. So we've got a long way and a hard road ahead of us to fix people's diets. And get people moving as opposed to just work on people's diets.
Rip Esselstyn:
So you've imported not only some of the American food, but also the American diseases.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
It's pretty high, that's the sad reality. And I know this because I worked part-time as a president of the Sports for All Federation. So that's an initiative just from the Ministry of Sport that has a mandate to get people active. And get 40% of the population active by 2030. That's the mandate that they put on this federation. And I know this because we have a lot of data and insight. We have a lot of surveys and stuff like that that we do. And a lot of programs really. Our programs and marketing campaigns to give people a better understanding of how important it is to have a healthy and active lifestyle. As well as having a proper nutrition lifestyle. We've had Dr. Scott [inaudible] yeah, we've had Dr. Brenda Davis was here. Let me see, we've had a bunch of other doctors. Brenda Davis. We've had doctor-
Rip Esselstyn:
Belardo.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Yeah, Dr. Belardo obviously. I mean she was an absolutely star when she was here. But a bunch of other doctors came here and then did a conference. We like to call the Lifestyle Enhancement Conference. And they did this amazing conference that really helped out a lot for people to understand the importance of nutrition. As a matter of fact, the Ministry of Health here helped us get local doctors and local practitioners and students, who are eventually going to be doctors, to attend this conference. And it was an accredited conference for them. It was perfect. So we had a lot of synergies happening between the Saudi government and the private sector.
Rip Esselstyn:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). One of the things that I know is super important to you, and it's one of the things that I think drives you is... And again, this is a quote that you had at Plant-Stock, was to, "Abolish animal agriculture and put it into the waste bin of history," something like that.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Yeah. Yeah.
Rip Esselstyn:
Which I think is so absolutely admirable. My question to you is, when do you think we'll have a collective awakening around animal agriculture and the industry and what it's doing to the planet? And, are you hopeful that we'll get there in our lifetimes?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
You know, that's such a tough question. And sadly, maybe the answer might not be the most rosy answer in the world. But the reality is the majority of human beings, as we've seen with COVID, will not wake up until we have something so severe happen to us all of a sudden. And when I say all of a sudden, but yeah. And in the span of maybe a few months and the pandemic reached epic proportions around the world. So I sadly do not see humanity pushing for a kinder and more gentle lifestyle until we have proper substitutes available. The idea that the plant is going to be majority, or even close to majority, plant based is just not a realistic ask. We've seen in multiple studies, the wealthier you are, the more meat is consumed. And that becomes something of a luxury so to speak.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
So that is why I'm a hundred percent believe in the answer to the climate issue that we have when it comes to that subcategory, which is animal agriculture, and the cruelty issue is cellular agriculture. And the way that we're going to abolish animal cruelty and put it in the dust bin of history will definitely be through innovation.
Rip Esselstyn:
Right.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
And to your last point, yes. I honestly believe that we will see it in our lifetime. My argument is how we'll get there. I don't think we'll get there with a shift in consciousness. I think we'll get there through economies of scale and through innovation.
Rip Esselstyn:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Mm-hmm (affirmative). Another thing that you said at Plant-Stock that I thought was really moving was around the whole thing where with great power comes great responsibility. And you have the ability to basically knock on almost anybody's door.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Yeah.
Rip Esselstyn:
On the planet.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Yeah.
Rip Esselstyn:
And that door will be opened. And so, my question is, what do you think is the best way to talk to that person or that corporation? Is it by showing them how they can save money, make money? Is it to try and let them know, "Listen, our planet is in peril." Or does it just depend upon the person or the corporation and what tactic you take?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
You know what, again, that is the sad reality that if I talk to a corporation you have to talk to them in corporation language. And that is profit and loss and shareholder value. They are not going to understand anything else. We can talk to them about CSR and everything, that's going to contribute 1%. That's going to maybe give them an effort of 1% from them. If we're talking to them about profit and loss or talking about the importance of seeing where the future is when it comes to innovation in animal agriculture. And how inefficient it is from a calorie per calorie standpoint, from a calorie in, calorie out standpoint, that is the best way.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
So, for my interaction with so many companies, again, I am blessed to be in a position to knock on someone's door and have it answered. I take that responsibility really carefully because one, I don't want to waste my time and whoever's in front of me time and pitching them an idea. But rather pitching them a business model that definitely is going to do a lot of good for them and for their company. And as well as contribute positively to the environment and animal welfare. And that happens with dairy for example. I mean we're investors in an absolute rockstar of a company, TurtleTree. And they do cellular agriculture, but they produce milk from mammary glands that mammals produce basically.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
And the way that we want to approach this is definitely approach dairy companies. And I'm telling them, "You can source dairy in this specific way as opposed to sourcing dairy through the waste of land that you're going to have to have with all the cows that you're going to have to keep. And all the water there you're going to waste. And all the feed you're going to have to waste. And all the excrement you to have to clean. And all the antibiotics and the hormones and all that other garbage. And the logistical nightmare of transporting the milk from point A to point B, et cetera."
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
So, that happened to be one of the best ways for me to use this specific ability that I have and convince so many companies to really open the doors for listening. To listening to what TurtleTree has to offer. And obviously that goes towards companies. It goes towards governments or even sovereign wealth funds.
Rip Esselstyn:
That's really interesting. So that one company, are they now interested in doing the cellular milk?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Oh no, our seed run was I think three years ago, or two years ago, and we're already raising I think our Series A. And it's a proven product. It's already been done in the lab. And we're actually going to with so many hospitals to produce human milk for babies. I mean, that's incredible. Because mom sometimes wean their kids away and then what do they substitute them with? You know, cow's milk for god's sake. So that will be the best substitute honestly for any kid.
Rip Esselstyn:
Well, you must be so absolutely excited every day because you're looking for new innovative exciting companies that can help change the world. What a fun life it seems. Exciting life. Also, I know it comes with a burden. I know it comes with extreme burden, but from the outside looking in it's like that's cool stuff you're doing. Did you want to comment, or should I keep going?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
No, no. I was just going to say that listen, I've worked in a bank for a few years. I've worked in the private sector. And then I worked with my dad, which was an absolute honor and really opened my eyes to so much potential and a lot of information. But I am blessed to have landed on venture capital. And I'm blessed to be investing into early state companies that are really, really doing a lot of good. And frankly, changing the world. So listen, I wake up in the morning, I'm excited. I totally agree with you. I'm excited to meet new entrepreneurs. To back entrepreneurs. And hopefully if I can contribute to their success in any way, then listen, that's a win for me.
Rip Esselstyn:
All right. What are some other companies that you're kind of excited about that you're investing in? I saw something I think on your Instagram, I think it was a electric airplane, is that right? That's sounds super like dope.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Listen, when we got the first proposal and I read it I was like, "Are you kidding me." I got this about a year ago or so, I was like, "Okay, this is a very interesting company, but I'm going to wait up a little bit and just see there's some proof of concept." Because this is a radical change obviously. And sure enough, we had a great conversation with Ampaire. Founders were just absolute rockstars. I really got along with them. I shared their vision and sure enough that translates into an investment with them. And then obviously we're going to work together with hopefully electrifying the skies here in the region. It's just amazing all the contribution that we can do for the environment. It's incredible. And we're talking about electrifying planes. It's insane.
Rip Esselstyn:
Well, it just gets me fired up when I think about the innovation that is out there, right? Electrifying airplanes. Cellular meats. Right? The list goes on and on and on. That we just might be able to mitigate what's going on here with this climate pollution and turn the ship around. I mean, I've got to be hopeful.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Look, hopeful is definitely something that we all have to be regardless of how tough the road is. And again, those are just subcategories of the contributors to climate change. There's many factors. There's buildings. There's concrete. There's steel. There's so much other parts. There's the carbon that they emit. So there's a lot of work that has to be done and not just from an animal standpoint. Not just from a building standpoint or even from a transportation standpoint. There's a lot of contributors to global warming that we all need to work on collectively. And this is a mammoth task man. This has to have global government coordination. This is not going to happen by one company or one person or anything.
Rip Esselstyn:
On your Instagram it lists about five things, five bullet points for you. The first one is geek. So, I love geeks, but tell me why do you consider yourself a geek?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
I mean, I grew up building computers. I grew up programming. I was a really big on building my own PCs and stuff like that when I was a kid. And then with gadgets and everything, I love gadgets. If there's a new phone that comes out I'm on it and I have to try it out. I have to test it out. And I have to just take it through the ringer and just see what I can do with it and stuff like that. One of the easiest ways to know that I'm a geek is that any family member or friend who has a question when it comes to their electronics, they call me. Unfortunately. So that's a good thing I guess, but obviously it puts you directly into one category clearly. But I actually love gadgets.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
And for me, being a geek or even a nerd, is not just something that I make fun of. At the end of the day, nerds and geeks are the ones who are changing the world. You know what I mean? And I'm not saying I'm changing the world, because I don't have the brain capacity of what Elon or Bill Gates or many of the big guys. Jeff Bezos, all the other guys have. But what I do have is the ability, thankfully, to just recognize those dreamers. Those dreamers are the guys who really dare to change the world. And for me to be part of that in any way, shape or form, I'm blessed to be in that position.
Rip Esselstyn:
Let me ask you this, what kind of phone do you have right now?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
I rock a Samsung and an iPhone.
Rip Esselstyn:
Oh, you have both. Okay.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Yeah.
Rip Esselstyn:
You got an Apple or a PC?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
No, I can't do PC. I moved away from PC I think in just the last year of the Motorola when they moved away from Motorola processors to their Intel processors. And I've been on Apple since.
Rip Esselstyn:
Gotcha. What about a watch? What kind of watch you got?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Apple watch.
Rip Esselstyn:
Apple watch. Yeah. Cool. All right. All right. So another thing, another bullet point. Animal lover. Have you always loved animals? Or is it something that's been building?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
So again, that's a double edged sword. Because you say you love animals and then you go hunting. So that's definitely a contradiction in of itself. But yeah, I loved pets when I grew up. And I didn't know the difference between a pet and the food that you ate. I didn't have the opportunity for someone to show me the difference. So I think after going vegan, I can safely say that I'm a hundred percent animal lover. I just love peace, that's all I care about.
Rip Esselstyn:
Right.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Yeah.
Rip Esselstyn:
We like that. You got plant eater down there obviously, which we love. Is there any plants, food, that you just can't stomach?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
That's a good question. I've always heard the opposite, what's your favorite. But I can't... Oh, you know what? Yes I do. Or I did. So tempeh, I absolutely despise. Or okay, despised. I thought that was the devil's food. I could not stand it. But then a few trips around the globe and I stumbled into this company called Mighty Bean. And they do this tempeh in Australia and I'm telling you man, I can't eat enough of it.
Rip Esselstyn:
Oh.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
And I'm talking about ripping the packet out and just eating it direct. It's so, so good. So I can't think of one food that I can't stomach anymore.
Rip Esselstyn:
Wow. So even you don't mind eggplant or-
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
No.
Rip Esselstyn:
No.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
No problem at all. Eggplant, I love Brussels sprout, all those. I love those.
Rip Esselstyn:
Wow. What about jackfruit?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Jackfruit, I've never had raw jackfruit. I've never had a jackfruit I'd open it up and then eaten it. I've had it cooked and everything. So I'll definitely tell you when that day comes.
Rip Esselstyn:
Good. Good. Obviously you got venture capitalist down there. How long would you say you've been a venture capitalist? Like how long have you been knee deep into this and getting after it?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
So I absolutely loved venture capital since I was working with my dad and even before that. I always was interested in investing in early stage companies rather than investing in mature companies. I've always seen the potential of them going up is a lot higher. Obviously the potential of them going bust is even a lot higher as well. But, I love the excitement of it. And ever since I was working with my dad and I was in charge of business development and it was something that I always loved. I always loved listening to entrepreneurs. And getting these new concepts and seeing how we can be part of it. As the group, as my father's company, which is Kingdom Holding.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
And then, obviously I stepped out and wanted to do my MBA. That didn't work out too well because I just wanted to work. And I put that on hold and I just started working. And I started investing in a very haphazard sort of way into early stage companies until my portfolio became big enough to where that someone needs to manage this a little better than the way I'm doing it. So I got an amazing team. I got a partner of mine, John Backus. I got a CFO, Steve Mullins. I've got two partners of mine, directors, Roy and then Matt. And we all work together on creating what we see in front of us, which is KBW Ventures. And everybody is in charge of a certain thing. And they really help me to focus on not only sourcing deals, but closing deals. And everybody else has their own responsibility to managing the portfolio.
Rip Esselstyn:
Yeah. Do you have any idea, so since KWB started, how many of those investments have actually been successful and how many have not? Is it 50%?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
I don't know, great question. So we source our... That's a beautiful question. We source our deals two ways. One way is through the traditional networking type of way. And that way is usually a higher risk than the other way that I'm going to tell you in a second. We've had one write-off and we're investors in roughly 37 companies or so right now. And that write-off was about a $50,000 write-off, which isn't in the grand scheme of things, isn't big at all.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Our other way of sourcing deals is through our fund. It's called the PROF, which is a pro rata opportunity fund. And basically we have a bunch of early stage funds that we partner with. And they give us access to the deals that they want to keep investing in but can't because they're over allocated. They're over exposed. They're over leveraged. They've invested already too much money to one company. They ran out of money, they can't invest in their stars. So we would invest our money on their behalf with their winners. And that shortens the risk dramatically. I mean literally, again, we've had one write-off in the last five years or so. So in the venture capital world that's unheard of.
Rip Esselstyn:
No. Yeah.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Yeah. And in the venture capital world there's usually the 80/20 rule. 80% of your funds is wiped out, 20% drives all the return. Maybe one or two companies from the 20% drive all the return.
Rip Esselstyn:
Congrats. That's a good track record.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
I mean, again, I'm blessed to have partners like John and his two partners, you know, Jonathan (inaudible) so I'm really, really blessed to have met them. And I'm in this journey with them. It's been an absolute amazing roller coaster ride. We've had ups and downs and everything, but it's been going really, really good. I'm so happy.
Rip Esselstyn:
Yeah. Yeah. Well, you're aware about a year ago I kind of took over the Engine 2 PLANT-STRONG food line from Whole Foods. They turned it over to me. And you talk about a roller coaster ride, the last year has been really one of the hardest of my life. But it also at the same time has been one of the most exciting. And has forced me to grow and expand in ways that I never saw possible. So, to think that you've done that, or your part, of helping grow 37 different companies up to this point, that's pretty special. That's pretty remarkable.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
And then soon to be 38. So we'll be together in that journey.
Rip Esselstyn:
Yes, yes. I appreciate that. Thank you. The last thing. Stillness speaks.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Yup.
Rip Esselstyn:
What does that mean?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
I understand that last year was one of the toughest years that any and that all of humanity had to go through. And specifically for certain type of workers. And again, that has to have been one of the toughest and most stringent time on many people's lives. For that I'm thankful that we've almost passed it. We almost have it behind us right now. But for me, that was one of the most challenging times mentally for me. And I started getting into meditation a lot heavier. I started reading a little more. And I started having just discussions with certain people in the spiritual world to help guide me a little bit. And that year for me was one of the biggest transformation... What's the word in looking for? Transformative.
Rip Esselstyn:
Yeah.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Yeah, transformative years for me ever. And I've adopted this more stillness speaks mentality of I don't react, so to speak, to things anymore. But I take it in, I analyze and I react later. And that's why I believe in stillness speaks. And I read obviously Eckhart Tolle's books and that really helped me a lot throughout the year, throughout 2020.
Rip Esselstyn:
Yeah. No, that's one of the things that I would like to do. I haven't done it, is make meditation a consistent part of my life.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Yeah.
Rip Esselstyn:
You know?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
I've had a hard time, and I still have a hard time. I mean shit, I'm no guru for god's sake. But my meditations go from thinking about a thousand things and then just trying to stay still. And then going through a thousand things again. I'll never be... Well, I'm not going to say never. But for now, I'm not where I can just be absolutely present. But I'm working on that and that's my type of meditation. And you know what, it works. I feel rested. I invested in my sleep and invested in my wellbeing mentally. And for me, that's where stillness speaks come from. So meditation for me is one of the toughest things I've ever done. I crossfit, and meditation is tougher. I swear.
Rip Esselstyn:
When in the day do you meditate? Morning, night? When?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Yeah. It has to be morning. It has to be morning. And some occasions I do it maybe twice a day. Not at night, but in the middle of the day I would just I'm in the office and people know, this is my time. Leave me alone for 15 minutes. And I turn my back to everyone and face the window. And I just do my thing and just try to be present. Because there's a lot of challenges happens in one's life. And it's just really important just to collect your thoughts and collect yourself.
Rip Esselstyn:
Yeah. Any books that you're reading right now that you recommend that anybody read? Or any movie that you've seen or show on Netflix or anything?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Huh. So obviously for me, when it comes to books I've gotten obviously A New Earth was something that I really, really enjoyed reading. Business books I like Blitzscaling was super important and super interesting for me. I'm trying to look at the other books that I've read. Let me see... Other than that, I don't read a lot of fiction, that's the thing with me. I read a lot of-
Rip Esselstyn:
Nonfiction?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Nonfiction books. Yeah. But when it comes to movies or documentaries, for me one of the best documentaries that ever came out obviously is Game Changers. That was, you can't get better than that. But I started reading Bill Gates' recent book that he just came out with, the Climate Catastrophe. That's a super interesting book. I'm in the middle of it right now. It's something that I really recommend people read and read well. And listen to what you're saying when you're reading it. It's super important.
Rip Esselstyn:
Yeah. Do you know Bill at all?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Yeah. I've met him a few times. We worked together in the Breakthrough Energy Ventures company that he has. I'm on the board substituting my dad in that company. And I recommend everyone just do a quick Google on Breakthrough Energy Ventures and all the amazing things that Bill Gates is doing.
Rip Esselstyn:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). You know one of the movies that has literally in the last three days at least 10 people have told me, "Rip, you got to watch this. Rip, you got to watch this." It's called the Octopus Teacher and its on Netflix. The Octopus Teacher. It's a documentary. And so we're going to check it out tonight.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Nice. Okay, good. So actually you know what, it's early enough for me to actually do something because I'm going to watch a movie tonight. I'm going to do that then.
Rip Esselstyn:
Do the Octopus Teacher and then shoot me an email, let me know what you think.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Oh, for sure. Yeah. I will.
Rip Esselstyn:
Good. Good. All right. Hey, you know what, this has been fabulous.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
My pleasure. Thank you so much.
Rip Esselstyn:
No, thank you for the conversation. If people want to know more about you and what you're doing, where should they go?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
I mean, they should go to I guess KBW Ventures. Well, kbw.vc is the best way to get all the information. My handle obviously is Khaled Alwaleed, you can probably write it down somewhere or Google it, it's my name.
Rip Esselstyn:
I have it in the show notes.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Yeah, yeah, exactly. You can put it on the show notes or something. But yeah, you can just pretty much follow me there. And I usually respond to a lot of comments or stuff like that when it comes to general questions.
Rip Esselstyn:
All right. Hey, let's sign off. If you could copy me, peace.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Yes, sir.
Rip Esselstyn:
Engine 2.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Yup.
Rip Esselstyn:
Keep it PLANTSTRONG.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Oh yeah. See you brother.
Rip Esselstyn:
All right.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed:
Thank you very much man.
Rip Esselstyn:
Compassion truly is a lifestyle. And I'm grateful that Khaled and his team are investing in life changing technologies and sustainable solutions. For more information on Khaled and his work visit the links in the show notes at plantstrongpodcast.com.
Rip Esselstyn:
Peace, Engine 2, keep it PLANTSTRONG.
Rip Esselstyn:
Thank you for listening to the PLANTSTRONG podcast. You can support the show by taking a quick minute to follow us wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. Leaving us a positive review and sharing the show with your network is another great way to help us reach as many people as possible with the exciting news about plants. Thank you in advance for your support. It means everything.
Rip Esselstyn:
Have you had your own Galileo moment that you'd like to share? What happened when you stepped into the arena and shed the beliefs that you thought to be true? I'd love to hear about it. Visit plantstrongpodcast.com to submit your story and to learn more about today's guest and sponsors. The PLANTSTRONG podcast team includes Carrie Barrett, Laurie Kortowich, Ami Mackey, Patrick Gavin and Wade Clark. This season is dedicated to all of those courageous truth seekers who weren't afraid to look through the lens with clear vision and hold firm to a higher truth. Most notably my parents, Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr. and Ann Crile Esselstyn. Thanks for listening.
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