When MBS was growing up he saw who mattered in which tribe and the positions of different clerics. MBS studied Law at King Saud University. He did not have a foreign degree and did not live a very lavish life like other members of his extended family. Abdul Aziz was MBS's grandfather.
During his rise to power MBS neutralized the clerics with a single royal decree (p. 63). When Obama visited KSA, the monarch (MBN) did not visit him. Instead, the Governor of Riyadh was chosen. Writing about his conduct the author states that MBS was 45 minutes late for his meeting with Ban Ki Moon (p. 104). The crown prince developed close relations with the Trump family. An interesting detail revealed in the book is that Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner was accepted into Harvard because his father had pledged 2.5 million dollars to the university (p. 108).
Hubbard states that MBS's influence can be estimated by the fact that events such as the Yemen intervention, the arrest campaigns, the forced resignation of Saad Hariri and the Ritz crackdown could not affect how Americans viewed him (p. 222). The author is of the view that MBS views three threats to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. First, jihadists of Al Qaeda and the Islamic state, second Muslim Brotherhood and the third one was Iran (p. 223). The writer of this book also discusses the rifts between Khashoggi and MBS. He stresses that Khashoggi argued that democracy would improve governance and the crown prince MBS needed check on his powers (p. 239).
According to the author, MBS eliminated his rivals, extended his control over the state and became the undisputed leader of the Saudi state at a young age. His influence would stay there in the coming decades. Hubbard stresses that he was hard-working, more strategic, more willing to let go traditions and brutal- in short a true Machiavellian prince (p. 277).
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