Saudi Arabia

The royal family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia likes to trace it ancestry back to the 18th Century. It all sounds so ancient and, well, almost stable. But not so fast. The family of Saud has had its ups and downs. The current Saudi Arabia is actually the third time this family has asserted that it was in charge. Most recently, one Abdul Aziz bin Saud established what he called the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, at a time when he and his kingdom were destitute. Oil was not discovered there until 1938, and it wasn't until after World War II that anyone began to exploit it. Its hard to believe, but Roscoe Bartlett was in college before the Saudis made their first million. Abdul Aziz died 55 years ago.

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