The government of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund had acquired a 5.7 percent stake in Live Nation, the leader in concert tickets and music festival production.

From the day of the attacks, Sept 11, 2001, the trail points to Saudi Arabia. First, there was the inescapable fact that, like Osama bin Laden, 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis. The first two flew into Los Angeles in January 2000 and quickly made their way to a Saudi mosque. When they moved to San Diego a few weeks later, they turned for help to a middle-aged Saudi student whom the FBI suspected of spying for the kingdom.

Human rights in Saudi Arabia are often considered to be among the worst in the world. The Saudi government, which enforces Wahhabi sharia law under the absolute rule of the House of Saud, has been accused of and denounced by various international organizations and governments for violating multiple human rights within the country. 

Saudi women face discrimination in many aspects of their lives, such as the justice system, and under the male guardianship system are effectively treated as legal minors. Although they make up 70% of those enrolled in universities, for social reasons, women make up 5% of the workforce in Saudi Arabia,[46] the lowest proportion in the world. The treatment of women has been referred to as "sex segregation"

Amnesty International reported Saudi Arabia’s Mabahith, the secret police agency of the Presidency of State Security in Saudi Arabia, escalated repression of the rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly. They arbitrarily detained and prosecuted dozens of government critics, human rights defenders, including women’s rights activists, members of the Shi’a minority, and family members of activists.

Washington Post contributor, Jamal Khashoggi was murdered and dismembered by a Saudi death squad.