Muhammad bin Laden
Sheikh Mohammed bin Laden (died 1968) was a Yemeni and Saudi investor and businessman, and the patriarch of the bin Laden family. He was also the father of Osama bin Laden.
A native of the Chafeite (Sunni) Hadramaut coast in Yemen, bin Laden emigrated to Arabia before World War I. He came to the attention of Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud, first monarch of Saudi Arabia, through various construction projects, and due to these connections his company was awarded contracts for major renovations at Mecca.
There he made his initial fortune from exclusive rights to all mosque and other religious building construction in Saudi Arabia and several other Arabic countries. Until his death he held exclusive control over restorations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
In his later years, the bin Laden corporate network diversified its activities beyond contruction, largely in foreign investment and oil.
Bin Laden had several wives and fathered at least 54 children. After his death his company was run by his son Salem bin Laden.
Mohammed bin Laden (born approximately 1983) is a son of Osama bin Laden.
In January 2001, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, he married the daughter of Mohammed Atef, an Egyptian al-Qaida leader.
