One of the world’s richest men, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, has spent $2.2 million in legal fees so far fighting a libel battle with the business magazine Forbes, reports Jane Croft of The Financial Times.
Croft writes, “Andrew Caldecott QC, representing Forbes, alleged to the court that part of his client’s case was that the prince ‘was desperate to be in the top 20’ billionaires on the Forbes list.
“He also claimed the four Forbes articles complained of had used a succession of ‘qualifying words’ and told the court that the legal costs for his opponents had reached £1.4m already.
“The case came before the High Court on Tuesday in a hearing to determine the meaning of allegedly defamatory statements. This is a preliminary legal step ahead of a libel trial that could begin as early as next year.
“Mr Justice Tugendhat reserved his judgment on the issues until a later date.”
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