SEDCO (Saudi Economic and Development Company) was founded in 1976 by the late Sheikh Salem Bin Mahfouz, growing from a small trading and construction contracting business in Jeddah to become one of Saudi Arabia’s largest conglomerates and a global force in Shariah-compliant private wealth management.
Sheikh Salem’s life story is a remarkable tale of vision and commitment that enabled him to overcome an impoverished childhood to become founder and chairman of the National Commercial Bank (NCB), the first Saudi bank, which was established in 1953 and grew to become the Middle East’s largest financial institution. When Sheikh Salem died in 1994, his estate was inherited by his widow, five sons, and seven daughters. While his son Khalid decided to concentrate his assets in the National Commercial Bank, the rest of the family focused on SEDCO as their investment and wealth-management vehicle.
