The Wall Street Journal
WSJ:
SATURDAY, APRIL 26e, 2025
4/26/2025 12:00:00 PMShare This Episode
Ryan Knutson: Tony and his wife left NEOM in May 2021. They'd lasted a year.
Tony Harris: If I look back today, I certainly don't regret that experience. We learned a lot. We met some absolutely fabulous people. So I'm not sorry that we had that experience. I just am sorry that it was so badly led from the very top.
Ryan Knutson: Nadhmi would last another three years at NEOM, and the story of his departure starts with what should have been a major moment for the project, the grand opening of its very first development, Sindalah, that island with a cluster of resorts and parking for your yacht.
Eliot Brown: It was by NEOM standards easy to build.
Ryan Knutson: Reporter, Eliot Brown again.
32:17
------
WSJ: SATURDAY, APRIL 26e, 2025
Eliot Brown: In reality, it's challenging to build on an island and it was innovative design, but compared to The Line, we're talking structures that are a few stories high. It was supposed to cost a little over $1 billion as of a couple of years ago, but as they actually got along with construction, everything just kept going up. The concrete was expensive, the steel was expensive, everything was taking a while.
-
challenging /ˈtʃælɪndʒɪŋ/ : 挑戦的な、困難な
-
innovative /ˈɪnəveɪtɪv/ : 革新的な
-
structure /ˈstrʌktʃər/ : 構造、建物
-
couple /ˈkʌpl/ : 2つ、2人、数
-
concrete /ˈkɒnkriːt/ : コンクリート
-
steel /stiːl/ : 鉄鋼、スチール
Ryan Knutson: Sindalah was running three years late and $3 billion over budget. The pressure was growing for Nadhmi to finally deliver. And so in October, he launched Sindalah with a big glitzy party. Will Smith and Tom Brady attended, Alicia Keys performed for an audience of business executives. Super yachts floated in the water nearby, but the spectacle couldn't entirely distract from the embarrassing truth about Sindalah.
-
running late /ˈrʌnɪŋ leɪt/ : 遅れている
-
over budget /ˈoʊvər ˈbʌdʒɪt/ : 予算を超えて
-
pressure /ˈprɛʃər/ : プレッシャー、圧力
-
launch /lɔːntʃ/ : 発表する、開始する
-
glitzy /ˈɡlɪtsi/ : 豪華な、きらびやかな
-
spectacle /ˈspɛktəkəl/ : 見世物、壮大なショー
-
embarrassing /ɪmˈbærəsɪŋ/ : 恥ずかしい、気まずい
-
truth /truːθ/ : 真実
Eliot Brown: The reality is it wasn't even done. Half of the island is still a construction site. The hotels that were theoretically done are... a lot of the rooms are shut.
Ryan Knutson: And still more damning was who hadn't shown up for the launch. What did MBS make of this?
Eliot Brown: Well, he didn't go to the party.
Ryan Knutson: MBS had stood up NEOM and Nadhmi.
Eliot Brown: We don't know why, but the NEOM employees were quite surprised by that. They took it as a sign of disapproval, and then three weeks later, the Saudi decides to shake up NEOM.
Rory Jones: Within weeks, Nadhmi leaves as the CEO.
Ryan Knutson: Reporter, Rory Jones again.
-
damning /ˈdæmɪŋ/ : 破滅的な、致命的な
-
hadn't shown up /ˈhædənt ʃoʊn ʌp/ : 現れなかった、姿を見せなかった
-
stood up /stʊd ʌp/ : 無視する、約束を守らない
-
disapproval /ˌdɪsəˈpruːvəl/ : 不承認、反対
-
shake up /ʃeɪk ʌp/ : 大改革、再編
-
leave as /liːv æz/ : ～として辞任する
Rory Jones: The exact details about what happened and why and whether he is pushed isn't clear, but what is clear is that there is this coming out party for NEOM that MBS doesn't turn up at. And then weeks later, the CEO of NEOM is gone.
-
exact details /ɪɡˈzækt ˈdiːteɪlz/ : 正確な詳細
-
coming out party /ˈkʌmɪŋ aʊt ˈpɑːti/ : 初公開イベント、新たに発表されるイベント
-
turn up /tɜːrn ʌp/ : 現れる、姿を見せる
Ryan Knutson: Nadhmi had presided over years of ballooning costs, staff churn and pushed deadlines. The dance of delusion had thrived on his watch, but when the time came to deliver, the music stopped and Nadhmi, the man who once declared that he drives people like slaves, was out.
-
presided over /prɪˈzaɪdɪd oʊvər/ : ～を監督した、取り仕切った
-
ballooning /bəˈluːnɪŋ/ : 膨らむ、膨張する
-
staff churn /stæf tʃɜːrn/ : スタッフの入れ替わり
-
pushed deadlines /pʊʃt ˈdɛdlaɪnz/ : 期限を延ばした、期限を超過した
-
dance of delusion /dæns əv dɪˈluːʒən/ : 幻想の踊り（幻想を抱き続ける行動）
-
thrive /θraɪv/ : 成長する、繁栄する
-
deliver /dɪˈlɪvər/ : 成し遂げる、成果を出す
-
the music stopped /ðə ˈmjuːzɪk stɑːpt/ : 事態が終息した、現実が突きつけられた
-
slaves /sleɪvz/ : 奴隷
There are many stories of visionary CEOs who drive their employees incredibly hard and get miracles out of them. So why don't you think it worked for Nadhmi?
-
visionary /ˈvɪʒəneri/ : ビジョンを持った、先見の明のある
-
drive /draɪv/ : 駆り立てる、促す
-
miracles /ˈmɪrəkəlz/ : 奇跡、奇跡的な成果
Rory Jones: Yeah, it's a good question. I think partly, it's about the juxtaposition between that sort of culture of the hard charging exec and the idea for NEOM. NEOM is supposed to be this place where people go and they're free-thinking. The whole essence of NEOM is it's going to be more liberal than the rest of the kingdom and that it's going to be progressive. And a lot of the people that go there are buying into that idea and they really do think of themselves as interested in creating the future. So you've got these types of people that are then coming into contact with a CEO that is more in a traditional mold, that believes that he can shout and belittle people and that's going to motivate them, and there's just a complete culture clash there.
-
juxtaposition /ˌdʒʌkstəpəˈzɪʃən/ : 対比、並列
-
hard charging /hɑːrd ˈtʃɑːrdʒɪŋ/ : 活動的な、猛烈に動く
-
exec /ɪɡˈzɛk/ : 役員、経営者
-
liberal /ˈlɪbərəl/ : 自由主義的な、進歩的な
-
progressive /prəˈɡrɛsɪv/ : 進歩的な
-
belittle people /bɪˈlɪtl ˈpiːpl/ : 人々を見下す、軽んじる、侮辱する
-
clash /klæʃ/ : 衝突、対立
Ryan Knutson: Since Nadhmi's departure, Saudi Arabia's Sovereign Wealth Fund, the PIF, has taken more direct control of NEOM and they're finally coming to grips with the project's true cost.
Eliot Brown: We saw one document that was a draft presentation to the board last year that put the total capital expenditure of the full NEOM buildout at $8.8 trillion.
Ryan Knutson: $8 trillion. I feel like I already know the answer to this question, but can Saudi Arabia afford that?
Eliot Brown: No is the long and short, not even close.
- No is the long and short, not even close /noʊ ɪz ðə lɔːŋ ənd ʃɔːrt, nɒt ˈiːvən kloʊs/ : 結論としては「全く違う」、その答えは遠く及ばない
- the long and short /ðə lɔːŋ ənd ʃɔːrt/ : 要するに、結論は、手短に言えば
Ryan Knutson: A NEOM spokeswoman said The Journal was incorrectly interpreting the numbers in that presentation. As for NEOM's progress, she said, "Our priorities remain intact, and all five of our regions are underway, with 103 active construction sites across NEOM."
In some ways, MBS in Saudi Arabia may not need NEOM anymore. Remember that when MBS first came to power, he enacted a bunch of social reforms and Rory says they've had a huge impact.
-
incorrectly /ˌɪnkəˈrɛktli/ : 誤って、間違って
-
interpreting /ɪnˈtɜːprɪtɪŋ/ : 解釈する
-
priorities /praɪˈɒrɪtiz/ : 優先事項、最優先事項
-
intact /ɪnˈtækt/ : 無傷の、損なわれていない
-
underway /ˌʌndəˈweɪ/ : 進行中の
-
active construction sites /ˈæktɪv kənˈstrʌkʃən saɪts/ : 現在工事中の現場
Rory Jones: He opens cinemas, he allows live music, he allows men and women to intermingle, and that just creates a completely different environment in other parts of the kingdom like Jeddah and Riyadh. And so now it's one of the coolest places to be in the Middle East.
-
cinemas /ˈsɪnəməz/ : 映画館
-
live music /laɪv ˈmjuːzɪk/ : ライブ音楽
-
intermingle /ˌɪntəˈmɪŋɡəl/ : 交流する、混ざり合う
Ryan Knutson: Saudi Arabia now has an entertainment sector and a tourism industry. Most importantly, it's less dependent on oil. In 2023, for the first time, 50% of Saudi Arabia's real GDP came from sources other than oil. It's sort of like as MBS was trying to build NEOM, this new place where anything was possible, the rest of Saudi Arabia has actually become more like NEOM, the place that he was dreaming of.
Rory Jones: Absolutely. Yeah, definitely. I think MBS has really initiated a bunch of changes in the rest of the kingdom that mean the raison d'etre for NEOM isn't as strong.
-
initiated /ɪˈnɪʃieɪtɪd/ : 始めた、開始した
-
bunch /bʌntʃ/ : 一束、たくさん、群れ
-
changes /ˈtʃeɪndʒɪz/ : 変化、変更
-
raison d'etre /ˌreɪzɒ̃ ˈdɛtrə/ : 存在理由（フランス語の表現で、「存在する目的」を指す）
Ryan Knutson: How would you describe NEOM's trajectory now? What do you think it'll become?
- trajectory /trəˈdʒɛktəri/ : 軌道、進路
Rory Jones: NEOM's not going to go away or going to be canned completely. MBS has tied his reputation to NEOM, and so it's still an important project for him. It's just like the scale and ambition of it is likely to be scaled back and look totally different than what was first laid out. And I go back to that idea that MBS has constantly been saying for almost 10 years, it's like, "If we can just do 50% of what we set out to do, then we'll have completely changed our country."
-
canned /kænd/ : 放棄された、解雇された（ここでは「完全に消えてなくなる」といった意味で使われています）
-
tied /taɪd/ : 結びつけられた（"tie" の過去形）
-
reputation /ˌrɛpjuˈteɪʃən/ : 評判、名声
-
scaled back /skeɪld/ : 縮小された、規模が小さくされた
-
laid out /leɪd/ : 設計された、計画された
-
set out /sɛt aʊt/ : 目指して始める、計画する
Ryan Knutson: Meanwhile, construction on NEOM continues. Head over to Google Maps and click toward the northwest corner of Saudi Arabia and you'll see it, an over 60-mile long gash cutting through the desert. It's a trench, marking the future path of The Line. The current plan is for NEOM to finish the first mile and a half of The Line in the next 10 years or so. The rest probably won't be completed for decades, if ever. Even within NEOM, people worry that that 60-mile trench is a literal money pit, performative progress, leading to nowhere. MBS once said that he wanted to build his pyramids. Only time will tell whether it's a monument to a young leader's vision or his failed ambition.
-
gash /ɡæʃ/ : 深い切り傷、裂け目（ここでは溝の意味）
-
trench /trɛntʃ/ : 溝、掘った道（未来の『The Line』の進行方向を示す溝）
-
performative /pərˈfɔːrmətɪv/ : 表現的な、見せかけの（実際には進展がないような進行状況）
-
money pit /ˈmʌni pɪt/ : お金が無駄に使われる場所（お金をどんどん投入しても結果が得られないもの）
-
monument /ˈmɒnjumənt/ : 記念碑、遺産
-
failed ambition /feɪld æmˈbɪʃən/ : 失敗した野心
Before we go, I just want to say that this will be my last Journal episode for a while. I'm going out on paternity leave through the summer, but I'll be back on the show this fall. See you then.
That's all for today, Saturday, April 26th. The Journal is a co-production of Spotify and the Wall Street Journal. This episode was produced by Annie Minoff and edited by Katherine Brewer. I'm Ryan Knutson. Additional reporting in this episode by Stephen Kalin and Summer Said. Fact-checking by Kate Gallagher. Sound design and mixing by Griffin Tanner. Music in this episode by Emma Munger, Griffin Tanner and Blue Dot Sessions. Our theme music is by So Wylie and remixed by Griffin Tanner. Special thanks to Alex Frangos, Kate Lambaugh, Laura Morris, Sarah Platt and Tatiana Zamis. Thanks for listening. See you Monday.
----
18:12