Replies

The Arabs are investing in tourism while they still have plenty of oil. That's why there are F1 circuits in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Most of them have amusement parks/water parks, too. Abu Dhabi's F1 circuit is inside of a Ferrari theme park. Saudi Arabia is building a new circuit with a 200+ foot-tall fly-over with a hairpin corner, all in the middle of a theme park.

Muhammad bin Salman, de facto king of Saudi Arabia, paid $450 million USD for 'Salvator Mundi,' well more than it was expected to bring, and despite it can't be 100% authenticated as a work of Leonardo da Vinci, because what he was buying besides the painting was the cachet of having the most expensive work of art ever sold. And he went so over the top with the bidding that it's likely to hold that distinction for some time to come.

And at the moment, they don't care how much they spend because money to them is something that jumps up from the ground and falls into their pockets. But they're investing now in means to keep their people placated when the oil runs out.

'Salvator Mundi' will eventually become the marquee attraction of a museum in Saudi Arabia which AFAIK they haven't yet broken ground on. 'Gus' might have the same fate in store.