We all know that OBL was a rich man, thanks to his inherited wealth, but how rich? And did he actually live like one. Let’s find out.
Born in 1957, OBL was 10 when he inherited $300 million, when his father Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden died in a helicopter crash, thus countering the myth that poverty breeds terrorists. Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was an illiterate dock worker in Yemen who saved enough money to start a construction company. 
Born in 1908, he emigrated to Saudi Arabia at a young age. In 1930, he began a construction company, and after coming to the attention of first monarch of Saudi Arabia, Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud, he eventually achieved such success that his family became known as “the wealthiest non-royal family in the kingdom.” The company, now the Saudi Binladin Group, is worth in excess of $5 billion.
Born in 1908, he emigrated to Saudi Arabia at a young age. In 1930, he began a construction company, and after coming to the attention of first monarch of Saudi Arabia, Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud, he eventually achieved such success that his family became known as “the wealthiest non-royal family in the kingdom.” The company, now the Saudi Binladin Group, is worth in excess of $5 billion.Well saying that Papa Laden was worth a ton of money, shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that he had to feed a huge number of mouths. Papa Laden had 22 wives who, combined, bore him at least 54 children. Osama himself was believed to be the 17th child overall, the only child of Mohammed bin Laden and his tenth wife, Hamida al-Attas.
Coming back to Li’l Osama, his exposure to radical Islam began after he shunned Western universities and studied at a university in Saudi Arabia, where he learned from Muslim preachers that following strict Islam was a defense against corruption and Western decadence. And with 1993 and 2001already under his belt the more he succeeded in killing, the more radical he became. He also started issuing fatwas, with the most infamous beingMuslims should kill Americans – including civilians – anywhere in the world.
And as the world absorbs the news of Osama bin Laden’s death, government warnings of counter strikes show that the death of one man won’t kill Al-Qaeda. One reason: the terrorist group doesn’t need bin Laden for money.
Contrary to popular opinion, the death of bin Laden does not strike a blow to the organization’s financial health. OBL did not support Al-Qaeda through a personal fortune or a network of businesses. He did not utilise his business resources for Al-Qaeda’s operations, they essentially lived hand to mouth.
How Al-Qaeda survives has kept the world’s top intelligence agencies in a pretty pickle. This game of swat-a-fly has changed the way global institutions function. Banks must now take responsibility for knowing who their customers are and also keep a strict eye on any unusual behaviour.
Though Bin Laden’s death is an important moral blow to Al-Qaeda, but is it an irrecoverable blow is yet to be seen.
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