Saudi Prince Gives $31M To Universities

DUBAI — A Saudi billionaire, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the biggest shareholder in Citigroup Inc., gave $15.7 million each to the British universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh to start Islamic studies research centers.

Mr. Alwaleed signed an agreement yesterday at London's Buckingham Palace in the company of the Duke of Edinburgh and the chancellor of both universities, Prince Philip, the Arab investor's Riyadh-based Kingdom Foundation said in an e-mail statement.

"It is paramount for both Islam and the West to reach mutual ground for proactive dialogue, respect, acceptance and tolerance," he said in the statement.

Mr. Alwaleed is the wealthiest Arab and the world's 19th-richest person with a fortune of $21 billion, according to Forbes magazine's annual rich list.