Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Some people want to spend their lives wallowing in wealth. However, Sulaiman Al Rajhi (95) had other wishes.

The Saudi Arabian businessman and billionaire actually wants to live poor when he is old by donating all his assets to charity. What's the story?

Rising from Poverty

Unlike Arabs who are rich from birth, Sulaiman Al Rajhi comes from a poor family. As a result, he did not have a good formal education because he had to work at a very young age.

At the age of 9, he left the happiness of his childhood to work as a porter at Al Khadra Market, Riyadh. He had to go back and forth carrying the groceries on his small back.

After that, Sulaiman also had to change jobs repeatedly, which was certainly far from pleasant. Quote Forbes Middle East, He was recorded as having been a date collector, cook and waiter. Apart from that, he also had his own shop.

Interestingly, this meager income is always saved, instead of being used for consumptive activities. He has an interesting formula: always set aside money for savings, even if it's just a penny.

“I used to save every penny I earned for the next day. This is what allowed me to have a starting point from which I built my future,” he said.

Thanks to this routine of saving, at the age of 15 he was able to hold a simple wedding party. After marriage, good fortune came to him.

Sulaiman was invited by his brother, Saleh Al Rajhi, to work at a money changer. Later, working at a money changer earned him a promotion. From being poor, to becoming rich. So does his business. From just one outlet, to dozens.

During this expansion, Sulaiman decided to look for new challenges. In 1970, he built his own money changer business which in a short time grew to 30 outlets throughout Saudi Arabia. In fact, it has succeeded in expanding to Egypt and Lebanon.

The large business network made Sulaiman and his brothers form a money changer holding company. Recently, this holding company changed direction and chose to enter the banking world, especially sharia banking through Al Rajhi Bank.

To ArabNews, this man born in 1929 told about the founding of a sharia bank. At first, Sulaiman admitted that it was not easy to establish a sharia bank. Many people do not believe that Islamic banks can strengthen the world economy.

He also had to fly all the way to England to meet the manager of the Bank of England. At that meeting he assured that sharia banking was needed not only for Muslims, but also Christians.

“I told them Muslims and Christians consider interest to be haram, Muslims and Christians do not want to make transactions with banks based on interest and prefer to keep cash and other valuables in boxes in their homes,” he said.

This is where Sulaiman's efforts were successful. Al Rajhi Bank was founded in England and decades later became the largest sharia bank in the world. Practically, this success then made Sulaiman's wealth skyrocket.

In 2011 Forbes His wealth has reached US$ 7.7 billion or Rp. 119 trillion today. With that price, he is in the 100 richest people in the world. Even though he is rich, Sulaiman has a different attitude about lifestyle.

Living in the People and Wanting to Be Poor Again

Having hundreds of trillions in assets doesn't make Sulaiman extravagant. He doesn't have a luxury car or private plane. To travel, he always uses economy class planes.

The reason Solomon behaved this way was because he did not want his wealth to be irresponsible before Allah. So, he always uses his assets for useful activities, including charity activities.

When it comes to charity, Sulaiman is always total. As someone who has been trapped in poverty, he feels that living in poverty is unpleasant. As a result of not wanting other people to feel the same way, he often distributed money to people in need.

Until finally the peak occurred in 2015. He distributed all his wealth to the poor in Saudi Arabia. He also transferred his share ownership in Al Rajhi bank to various charitable institutions.

As a result, all these actions made his wealth disappear and left little for his endowment and children's inheritance. On this basis, Forbes no longer includes his name in the ranks of the world's richest people.

He also said he was poor and claimed he only had one robe. Even so, Sulaiman has no regrets at all.

“All property belongs to Allah, and we are only people who have been entrusted (by Allah) to guard it,” he said.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(mfa/sef)