This created CemexNet, the company's private communications network.

FORBES: Cement meets the cyberworld

When Alwaleed travels, an advance communications team sets up a private phone network and satellite link, putting him in contact with his office in Riyadh and letting him keep an eye on the Arab TV channels in which he owns a stake.

FORBES: The optimist

When he's on the road, a communications team arrives at each location to set up a private phone network, as well as a satellite link to keep Alwaleed in touch with his office in Riyadh and his far-flung holdings.

FORBES: Riding the coattails of the global boom