Saudi businessmen take pride in their freedom to fail.

"Almost every land deal goes back to one of them," said a Saudi businessman.

Al Riyadh is owned by a group of Saudi businessmen and thus, officially independent.

"Toe the line and we'll make you rich," is how one young Saudi businessman put it.

One Saudi businessman said the King himself occasionally assisted in the final editing.

"I have a man who works for me who has three daughters," said a Saudi businessman.

"We have to do it," a Saudi businessman said.

Saudi businessmen, discouraged by the local economy and attracted by better prospects elsewhere, send still more money out of the country.

Press reports have described the company, which is private, as owned by a group of Saudi businessmen.

Mr. Khashoggi, a Saudi businessman, has said he lost money in the deal.