Editing Adnan Khashoggi (section)

==Early Career and Business Empire==
Khashoggi rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s as a key intermediary between Western defense companies and the Saudi government, brokering billions in arms deals, particularly with Lockheed, which paid him $106 million in commissions from 1970 to 1975. His commissions, initially 2.5%, escalated to 15%, making him a de facto marketing arm for Lockheed, providing strategic advice and access to Saudi contracts. He founded Triad International Holding Company, named after himself and his brothers Essam and Adil, which spanned investments in luxury hotels, oil refineries, real estate, and even the Utah Jazz basketball team. At his peak in the early 1980s, his net worth was estimated at $4 billion. His opulent lifestyle—featuring a $70 million yacht, the Nabila, used in a James Bond film, a $40 million customized DC-8 jet, and lavish parties attended by global elites—made him a media fixture.