Economics

Saudi Banker’s Rise to Top Aramco Job Tracks Prince’s Ascent

Yasir Al-Rumayyan to lead Saudi Aramco as IPO gets underway
Former banker’s rise has taken Saudi-watchers by surprise

Yasir Al-Rumayyan.Photographer: Kamil Zihnioglu/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

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By Vivian Nereim, Matthew Martin, and Dinesh Nair

September 8, 2019 at 4:00 AM UTC

Updated on

September 9, 2019 at 7:06 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Any doubt that Yasir Al-Rumayyan belonged to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s innermost circle was dispelled when a photo of them went viral in Saudi Arabia in December.

It showed them with five others on Mount Lawz, in the northwestern part of the country, in baseball caps, shorts and t-shirts, prompting Saudi-watchers to call them “hiking bros.”