My Takeaways From A Trip To Saudi Arabia

To investors,

I spent the last few days attending the New Global Sport Conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event was hosted as a complement to the eSports World Cup, which had a total prize pool of approximately $60 million for the world’s best eSports teams.

I thought it would be helpful to share a few takeaways I had from the trip.

First, I was impressed with the quality of people that attended the event. My brother and I were able to meet and hang out with Chess World Champion Magnus Carlsen, Access Industries’ Len Blavatnik, HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, A16Z’s Andrew Chen, Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks, DAZN Group CEO Shay Segev, and professional race car driver Jann Mardenborough.

Second, it was eye-opening to see how much capital is being invested by various Saudi organizations in an attempt to become a global hub for sports. Many groups spanning from the sovereign wealth fund to local companies appear focused on doing their part to bring talent into the region. For example, the venue that was created for the eSports World Cup would rival anything built in the United States or other Western nations.

Third, I was surprised how many jobs were being created by the kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan. We met people from India, Pakistan, Lebanon, UAE, United States, and many other nations who had moved to the country for work. Some of them were service jobs, but most of them were white collar opportunities. Locals told us that these white collar workers were commanding similar salaries to US workers, which was not what I expected. Majority of the workers with families had chosen to move their families to Saudi as well.

Fourth, it was very obvious that Saudi Arabia’s cultural norms have changed significantly over the last 3-4 years. Every single local national that we spoke with commented about the changes. Take women’s role in society — they were driving, wearing non-traditional clothes, and openly participating in every day life, including talking to my brother and I, the same way you would see in a Western nation. The biggest takeaway on this point was how proud the locals were about the positive changes.

Fifth, there was a significant difference between the US perspective and the reality on the ground. When I told family and friends that I was going on the trip, most of them told me some version of “be careful.” You could feel their worry about potential danger in visiting Saudi Arabia. The truth is that I felt safer walking the streets of Riyadh than I would walking in some parts of Manhattan.

Part of the feeling of safety is due to the harsh penalties levied against those who break the law in Saudi, but mostly it felt like a culture where uncertainty and chaos would not be tolerated. Along these lines, most Westerners I know judge countries based on the US media. I don’t think that is the best way to evaluate a foreign nation or city. Instead, you should go visit in-person and talk to the locals. Nothing can replace this type of experience.

Sixth, many of the young locals that we met were educated at US universities and colleges. They had returned home to build companies, invest capital, or work at fast-growing companies. The big driver on this talent coming back to Saudi seemed to be a strong sense of national pride. These talented individuals want to see their country succeed, so they are spending their time, money, and energy to be a part of creating that success.

Lastly, the biggest surprise was how much momentum the Vision 2030 project has. It reminded me the importance of leadership — it is very obvious that Saudi leadership has made a decision to modernize their country. This is not talk, but rather you can see the capital and resources being invested to make the dream become reality.

It felt like Saudi Arabia has done a 180 degree change and they are now in the acceleration phase of their plan. For example, there is $100 billion being invested in manufacturing, including the production of high-performance chips and semiconductors. That doesn’t include the work being done in artificial intelligence, sports, media, and various other industries.

Before I let you go, it is worth stating the obvious — Saudi Arabia has been criticized for various human rights issues over the years. The locals are well aware of these issues and the negative perception held by the West. Most of them were quick to point out that governments and their people disagree in many countries, including the United States. Additionally, every country — from the US to France to China to Saudi Arabia — has room for improvement on a variety of issues, including human rights.

Of course, I was only in the country for a few days and what I saw may not be representative of the country at large. I can only speak to my experience in the kingdom and what it suggests about the future — I would not be surprised if Saudi Arabia becomes one of the important business hubs globally. They have regional competition from Dubai, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be two winners.

The people of Saudi Arabia were incredibly hospitable to us. The food was incredible.

We met tons of hard-working, intelligent people focused on achieving the goals laid out in Vision 2030. And we left realizing the ground truth was very different than the public narrative.

You should always judge a nation by its people, not by its government.

If you ever get the chance to visit, I highly recommend it.

Hope you all have a great start to your week. I’ll talk to everyone tomorrow.

-Anthony Pompliano

Founder & CEO, Professional Capital Management

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