That's the missing piece of all this. The Saudis may legitimately be in the market for turning $15B into $10B, and being happy.
Oil is under a LOT of pressure, and while it won't go away anytime soon, the Saudis need to put their money somewhere. They likely already have a diversified portfolio of other stocks, they have after all made billions for almost a half century, and risking a smallish percentage of their wealth (there's a terrifying thought) is likely a smart move, even if they lose big, by anyone else's standards.
As a political strategy it is also probably sane. Vision Fund is likely good for the Saudi's reputation, as investment in innovation over, say, real estate in London or SF is less politically charged.
That's the missing piece of all this. The Saudis may legitimately be in the market for turning $15B into $10B, and being happy.
Oil is under a LOT of pressure, and while it won't go away anytime soon, the Saudis need to put their money somewhere. They likely already have a diversified portfolio of other stocks, they have after all made billions for almost a half century, and risking a smallish percentage of their wealth (there's a terrifying thought) is likely a smart move, even if they lose big, by anyone else's standards.
As a political strategy it is also probably sane. Vision Fund is likely good for the Saudi's reputation, as investment in innovation over, say, real estate in London or SF is less politically charged.
The Saudi's likely get a lot of this investment.