Heir to the Saudi throne Crown, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is reported to have bought the £200 million Chateau Louis XIV, a 50,000 square foot palace near Versailles that Kim Kardashian once considered as a potential wedding location.
The claim is likely to embarrass the 32-year-old prince who is preaching austerity at home while leading a crackdown on corruption and self-enrichment by the oil-rich kingdom’s elite.
Former CIA analyst and authour Bruce Riedel said: “He has tried to build an image of himself, with a fair amount of success, that he is different, that he’s a reformer, at least a social reformer, and that he’s not corrupt.
“And this is a severe blow to that image.”
The buyer was not identified at the time, but an investigation by The New York Times reports that the purchaser was Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
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The newspaper revealed a paper trail that leads from the purchase of the castle to the prince.
Ownership of the chateau is shrouded by shell companies in France and Luxembourg featuring a lawyer in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and a fixer for Malta, according to the report.
But, they are owned by Eight Investment Company which is a Saudi firm run by the head of Prince Mohammed’s personal foundation.
The report was pieced together through interviews and documents by The New York Times and the Paradise Papers leak.
The chateau appears to be one of several expensive purchases by the royal, including a £374 million yacht and a £337 million Leonardo da Vinci painting – according to the investigation.
Salaman also bought a 440-foot yacht from a Russian tycoon for £300million in 2015.
While splashing out, he locked up Saudi’s wealthy elite and demanded they pay huge sums of money for their freedom.
Last month hundreds of people, including the prince’s family, were reportedly held captive in the ballroom of Riyadh’s Ritz Carlton hotel surrounded by AK-47 wielding guards as part of the anti-corruption sweep, according to American officials.
Prince Mohammed bin Salmam has tightened his grip through the purge, which is seen as a political power grab.
Saudi-watchers say it is risky for Prince Mohammed to jail enemies for corruption and tout austerity while he continues to make extravagant purchases, especially as oil prices drop.
Chateau Louis XIV is modelled on 17th-century French castles, but it is only a few years old.
The property has a home cinema, indoor and outdoor pools, two ballrooms, a nightclub a moat and Forbes magazine has called the “world’s most expensive home”.
The mansion was constructed in three years by Emad Khashoggi, the nephew of the late arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi.
Mr Khashoggi tore down a crumbling 19th-century chateau at the site to build the new one.