David M. Rubenstein
Co-Founder and Co-Chairman, Carlyle Group
Over the past 25 years, I’ve spent a lot of time in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia meeting with investors and other people who’ve been business partners with my firm and among the most impressive people that I’ve met is Mohammed Jameel.
Mohammed Jameel is an extraordinary individual who taught me the value of learning how to get along with people who you might disagree with; the value of philanthropy; the value of giving back. And he’s and extraordinary business person as well, but actually I have to say, I don’t really admire him so much, because he makes me look bad!
He’s a much better businessman than I am, a much better philanthropist than I am, much more handsome than I am, a much better father than I am, a much better mentor than I am – and I just have to say to Mohammed Jameel: stop making me look bad! You’re doing everything so well! Try not to do things so well, so I can look a little bit better!
But one of the great stories Mohammed Jameel told me was that is father was a very preceptive businessperson. Here’s what he did: An ad., was run in a newspaper in Saudi Arabia asking for a distributor to a little company called ‘Toyota’. And the only person who responded favorably to it was Mohammed’s father, Abdul Latif Jameel, and he said, yes, he would be the distributor. Now at that time no-one had really heard of Toyota. It was close to the end of World War II, I think the early 1950s, and therefore, people weren’t interested! But Abdul Latif Jameel had the insight to say ‘this company might go somewhere, I’ll be the distributor’ and that was the launching of a gigantic business empire that Mohammed Jameel has done a terrific job of expanding and enhancing.
But what I admire most about Mohammed, honestly, is his philanthropy. His concern with people; his concern with giving back to society, that indeed, the whole Jameel family – Mohammed’s sons are extraordinary as well.
So, I just want to say: Congratulations on raising terrific children, Mohammed. Congratulations on being a terrific son to a great father, and congratulations for what you’ve done in our country, my country, because your philanthropy at MIT and other places is really extraordinary. So, while I kid about the fact that you make me look bad – and you do – I certainly do admire you.
Congratulations on all that you’ve done.
Congratulations for having an extraordinary family that makes everyone who knows you proud to say, ‘yes, the Jameel family, they’re a family I know well and I’m proud to call them my friends’.
