His bibliography alike the path those self-made men of the first generations in the Kingdom, there are a large number of businessmen who started their lives from almost nothing. The secret behind their rich as explained by Suleiman Olayan represents in the discipline, and then comes hard work from dawn to midnight, and the ability to focus on the target has a big role also. The mind of this man did not know the rest; as his life was like a river flowing with creative ideas which influenced by his limitless ambition to create a supernatural power makes nature (stock) is going according to his wishes.
He was born in the poverty hard world of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia before flow of oil, however, he make a supreme effort to found his fame on the absolute integrity. So he is admired by most of those who deal with him and the subject of their appreciation, to become one of the wealthiest man of the world.
His father was a merchant and enjoyed great prestige, but his business lost as a result of the First World War. his grandmother (for his mother Nora) brought him up, who had a very strong personality, Sheikh Suleiman always talked about her with great love and respect, and living in Onaizah was severe in that period, then Sheikh Suleiman when he was eight years old travelled to Bahrain to live and study there with his older brother, Hamad, and joined at first to the American School in Manama, where English is the only subject in the study plan of this school. Then he moved to study in public schools, he was good student as he was spending long hours after school day to study his lessons.
In 1936, Solomon left school to work in Bahrain Petroleum Company, which was owned at that time by "Standard Oil of California" and "Texas" companies, as an observer to measur quantities of oil in many tanks in Awali oil well, he was paid cheap salary no more than one Rupee and a half a day, and after about fourteen months Sheikh Suleiman returned back to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and joined the work at the oil Company and assigned as an observer of transportation, then he was promoted in this company, and has got good experience from working in. Sheikh Suleiman improved himself and his English skills by dealing with the Americans in the company’s compound at that time, till assigned for additional work as a translator, then he establish his own business by get ting a part of construction a new project for himself and told his company which accepted and helped him, so he traveled to Bahrain, and agreed with Abdul Aziz Al Bassam, who is a member of Al-Bassam trade family from Onaizah to lend him 14,000 riyals against mortgage his house in Al-Khobar, and he established by this amount a small company for building works titled “ General Contracting Company” with his brother; Abdullah, then his company expanded and his work increased very well in the three following years, as he received a lot of tenders applying for, from the more complex construction obtained by Soliman welding pipes to each other, later he granted a lot of simple construction works in TabLine cities; Qaisumah, Rafha, Budnah and Tarif which has helped him in developing his company greatly, then he returned back again to the Eastern Region and began to expand his business and established a dedicated project in transport and this company operates in transporting of gasoline and other oil derivatives from Dhahran to Bqaiq, which has become place of Saudi Aramco to search for oil and producing it.
In late 1951, Suleiman left Middle East for the first time and traveled on a long trip around the world and the purpose was twofold, first a holiday, second to contact companies which he wanted to deal with, he visited Rome, Paris, London and New York, and through his work with those companies he becomes able to achieve what he planned, and his other major activities achieved significant success.
then he started establishing his insurance company and he began this new work in 1952, as he traveled to Beirut, and contact with officials in a company called “Arab Insurance Company Ltd. “and he became its agent in all types of business in the Kingdom, and two years later he founded his own company called “ Arab Trade Enterprise Ltd. Which became in the next twenty years the largest insurance agency in the Middle East, then Sheikh Soliman founded the neutral zone of Kuwait as a separate company called “The Public Transport Company”, which subsequently became the largest Sheikh Soliman’s companies.
During the following fifteen yearsو Sheikh Soliman make Beirut-based to manage his work although he traveled a lot as he returned back to the Kingdom every two months to inspect his work there, and Beirut was a good chance to Sheikh Soliman to mingle more with the outside world, he used some professors from the American University such as Professor Harry Guenther, who was afinancial adviser to Sheikh Soliman as he helped him much in organizing of his Group finance affairs and helped him in expansion.
In the late sixties Sheikh Suleiman took a good decision which helped him a lot in maintaining his property as he request from the British Bank in the Middle East to give him an official receipt or detailed vouchers of documents deposited in it.
In the seventies, the October War led to a dramatic rise of oil prices, Olayan companies has benefited significantly from this rise and achieved substantial gains and doubled sales of Saudi Olayan Company to acquires the General Contracting Company, General Trade Co., transport companies and its assets increased by nine-fold from 48 million to 430 million dollars.
Since the early eighties, Sheikh Solimandirected most of his attention to investment in the U.S. and Europe, leaving the management of his business in Saudi Arabia to his son Khaled and his two daughters Hayat and Lubna.
He was known then as the more Arab investors success and professional, and perhaps greatest Investments owner, his fortune has estimated in the summer of 1999 according to the statements of directors of his companies exceed $ 8 billion in U.S. and Europe. Certainly, his investment outweighs investments of any adventure investors or Arab brokers who drew attention in the late seventies and early eighties by buying famous buildings and small banks.
at the end, Sheikh Soliman Saleh Olayan is considered an example for a self-made man always loving work, who enjoys work at all times, his Swiss friend; Carl Raikhmuth said about him: "Mr. Solomon enjoys adventure considerations and risk results and work correctly, and all that represents a source of pleasure such alike what I find when hiking mountains. "
Aware of the Olayan and his sons of their social responsibilities in supporting institutions, bodies and charities that support needy families and patients, and by considering the importance of noble humanitarian action they founded «Soliman Olayan Charity »