LeBron James rubs shoulders with Saudi Prince, who once brought a $450.3 million Leonardo Da Vinci painting
LeBron James linked up with Saudi Prince Bader bin Farhan Alsaud, who is also the Minister of Culture and Governor of the Royal Commission. Prince Bader and James seemed to have struck an excellent rapport during the latter's ongoing vacation in the oil-rich country.
Prince Bader posted a picture with LeBron James and his entourage, including business partner Maverick Carter, captioning the image:
"Good times"
Meanwhile, LeBron James re-shared the post on his story, writing:
"Love my brother!!! Until next time"
The reason behind James' visit to the country is not known. However, rumors have surfaced that he's there to explore his chances of securing an outrageous sum to take his talents to Saudi Arabia. That remains a far-fetched online narrative.
However, another viral presumption made by fans was related to his desire to buy an NBA team. James has expressed that thought publicly in the past. Connecting with one of the royals of Saudi has only intensified this notion.
Considering Saudi Arabia's developing interest in global sports and entertainment business, there could be more fire than smoke to the narrative that James made the trip to Saudi just for vacation purposes.
The billionaire is undisputedly one of the top business moguls, and it wouldn't be surprising if reports of a brewing partnership emerge over the coming few weeks.
Saudi Prince, who has a budding relationship with LeBron James, owns the world's most expensive painting
LeBron James is making some high-profile connections in Saudi Arabia. His latest connection, Prince Bader bin Farhan Alsaud, is certainly one. The Saudi Arabian minister once bought the world's most expensive painting worth $450.3 million. The painting was Leonardo Da Vinci's 'Salvator Mundi.'
Prince Bader bought it at an auction conducted in 2017. He wasn't at the auction, similar to most of the bidders, who had their agents bid for them at the venue at the auction Christie's Museum in New York. Nobody knew him then, as he preferred to maintain a low profile.
As a matter of fact, the auction company Christie's wasn't sure of his identity and whether he could afford to pay the auction price. Prince Bader had registered for the auction just a day before. He reportedly told Christie he earned money through real estate business and that he was one of the five thousand princes from Saudi Arabia.
Despite the cost being nearly half a billion, Prince Bader wanted to pay the amount in one go. However, he retracted his decision and paid the amount in installments until May 2018.
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