Saudi Arabia’s new ruler, King Salman, quickly changed his Twitter account name following the death of his half-brother. After changing his Twitter alias from @HRHPSalman to @KingSalman, he sent a tweet on Friday to his 1.3 million followers in which he said, “God rest the soul of Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz and grant his people the best rewards in separation.”
رحم الله عبدالله بن عبدالعزيز وجزاه عن شعبه خير الجزاء، وأحسن عزاء الشعب السعودي في فراقه.
— سلمان بن عبدالعزيز (@KingSalman) January 23, 2015
In his next tweet, which was sent at 3 a.m. ET, he said, “I am asking God to help me serve the dear people and realize their dreams, and protect our country and security and stability, and protect it from all evil,” NBC News indicated in a report.
أسأل الله أن يوفقني لخدمة شعبنا العزيز وتحقيق آماله، وأن يحفظ لبلادنا وأمتنا الأمن والاستقرار، وأن يحميها من كل سوء ومكروه.
— سلمان بن عبدالعزيز (@KingSalman) January 23, 2015
As reported yesterday on Immortal News, Saudi’s King Abdullah died at the age of 90. He’s succeeded by his younger half-brother, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
The late king died shortly after midnight, at 1:00 a.m., according to a statement released by the Saudi royal court.
United States President Barack Obama and former US President George H.W. Bush individually expressed their appreciation for the late Saudi ruler. Obama called him “courageous” while Bush referred to him as “wise.”
While Salman’s Twitter account has 1.4 million followers and 284 tweets, it follows zero accounts. His last tweet received 130K retweets and 26K favorites. The account, which has shared 260 photos and videos, was created back in January of 2013.
Abdullah of Saudi Arabis was the King of Saudi Arabia as well as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques from 2005 to 2015. He ascended to the throne on August 1, 2005, after the death of his half-brother, King Fahd. He was on August 1, 1924, in the same place he died, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. His parents were Ibn Saud and Fahda bint Asi Al Shuraim. Ibn Saud is accredited with the founding of modern Saudi Arabia.
Prior to his death, Abdullah was in a hospital for several weeks after he was admitted following a lung infection. The royal court indicated back in January that he was suffering from pneumonia, according to a report on Heavy.
Forbes estimated Abdullah’s net-worth back in 2008 as roughly $21 billion, which made him one of the richest royals in the world at the time. The late donated $5000 million to the United Nations World Food Program, $50 million to help in the recovery following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China, and $300,000 to help rebuild a New Orleans’ school after Hurricane Katrina hit. His list of donations exceeds the aforementioned.
The country of Saudi Arabia is the world’s second largest exporter of oil. The country has a $777 billion economy.
King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud was governor of Riyadh province for 47 years prior to becoming defense minister in 2011. A year after becoming the country’s defense minister, he became the crown prince.
Do you think King Salman will prove himself worthy of the crown over the course of his reign?
