Osama Bin Laden: Biography of the Infamous Terrorist Leader of the Al Quaida

Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was born on March 10, 1957, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, into one of the wealthiest and most influential families in the kingdom. His father, Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, was a Yemeni immigrant who had built a construction empire that would become synonymous with Saudi Arabia's rapid modernization during the oil boom of the mid-twentieth century. The bin Laden family's Saudi Binladin Group became the go-to contractor for major infrastructure projects, including the expansion of the holy mosques in Mecca and Medina, cementing their status as trusted allies of the Saudi royal family.

Growing up as one of approximately fifty children born to Mohammed bin Laden's multiple wives, Osama experienced both privilege and a sense of displacement within the sprawling family structure. His mother, Alia Ghanem, was Syrian and reportedly one of his father's least favored wives, which may have contributed to young Osama's feelings of being an outsider despite his material advantages. The family's wealth provided him with the finest education available, yet it was within this environment of extreme privilege that the seeds of his radical ideology would eventually take root.