122SHIFTING GEARS IN SAUDI ARABIAwatchers. For starters, Muhammad bin Salman was just thirty years old.
Many Saudis said he resembled his grandfather, both physically and in
the force of his determination. Prince Muhammad combined the vigor
of youth with a work ethic that kept him and his aides formulating pol-
icy until the desert birds started their chorus at dawn.
Most importantly, MbS enjoyed his father’s complete confidence.
Despite what many observers considered an insufficient pedigree— for
instance, he attended King Saud University rather than a top school in
the West— the king entrusted his son with powerful new positions. MbS
became chief of the royal diwan, which controls access to the king. He
landed controlling roles in the economy and energy sector as the head
of the new Supreme Council for Saudi Aramco. Most significantly, MbS
was named minister of defense.
Saudis and observers were deeply divided on the wisdom of handing
so much power to such a young man. Many argued that MbS was unpre-
pared. He had not paid his dues by governing a province, leading a
ministry, or serving as an ambassador or chief of one of the security
services or intelligence branches. Many qualified candidates had been
leapfrogged by the headstrong prince. Anonymous letters purportedly
written by disgruntled royal family members began circulating, warn-
ing of divisions within the al- Saud and threatening that a palace coup
could be the result.
But MbS had strong backing too. Besides his father, Muhammad built
up a cadre of top advisers and consultants, men like Khalid al- Falih, the
former CEO of Saudi Aramco (who would soon become oil minister),
and Mohammed al- Sheikh, a Harvard- educated World Bank lawyer. To
ordinary Saudis, Muhammad’s lack of international experience looked
more like a lack of Western taint. He was a real Saudi who spoke like
them, a man at ease in power and comfortable in his own skin, not afraid
to debate policy with Western journalists and be photographed infor-
mally, relaxing without his gutra headscarf.
Best of all, MbS was of the younger generation. Many Saudis felt
deeply frustrated that decades of sclerotic rule had made policy making
too risk averse, holding back the potential of an emerging power. Saudi
Arabia is one of the youngest countries on earth, and grassroots changes
have been percolating up from a tech- savvy society despite the anemic