Saudi’s LIV golf exit is just the start

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Saudi’s LIV golf exit is just the start"

The Indicator from Planet Money
Release Date: May 28, 2026
Hosts: Wayland Wong and Darren Woods
Featured Guests: Alan Shipnuk (golf journalist, author), Andrew Lieber (political scientist, Tulane University)

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Episode Overview

This episode explores the rise and sudden pullback of Saudi Arabia's investment in the professional golf world, specifically through the creation and eventual downsizing of the LIV Golf league. Using LIV’s story as a case study, the hosts investigate how Saudi’s ambitious Vision 2030 efforts to diversify its economy and boost cultural influence internationally are evolving in response to geopolitical realities and domestic pressures.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Saudi Arabia’s Grand Investment Vision

• Vision 2030 Unveiled (02:11)
  • Launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil.
  • Leveraged the country’s massive Public Investment Fund (PIF) to back major international and domestic projects, including Neom (the futuristic city), attempts to buy stakes in global entertainment and gaming companies, and substantial funding of sports ventures like LIV Golf.

The Role of Golf in Soft Power

• Golf as Diplomacy (03:30)

  • Alan Shipnuk describes how golf became a diplomatic “shortcut” for Saudi leaders, allowing deep networking with Western economic and government elites.

    "The Saudis understood that the halls of power are most easily accessed with a golf club in your hand... the bonds that are created on a golf course are profound."
    — Alan Shipnuk (03:37)

• Golf as Reputation-Laundering (00:45)

  • Investments intended to distance the Saudi brand from oil and human rights controversies, and to raise its cultural profile globally.

The Khashoggi Fallout and the Resilience of Golf Diplomacy

• Golf in the Shadow of Scandal (04:20)

  • Saudi-hosted tournaments continued just months after journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, drawing international condemnation but still attracting prominent players with unprecedented appearance fees.

    "The lesson for the Saudis was that you can buy the goodwill of professional golf. You can buy the services of the players, and they will follow the money."
    — Alan Shipnuk (04:49)

LIV Golf’s Business Model and Trump’s Involvement

• Creating a Rival League (05:09)

  • LIV Golf lured star athletes from the PGA Tour with large signing bonuses.

  • Sought venues through connections with Donald Trump, leveraging his network of golf courses after his relationship with the PGA soured post-January 6.

    "The only place he could host a tournament, the only people who were willing to acknowledge him in the game of golf, was LIV. It was the Saudis."
    — Alan Shipnuk (06:17)

• Lack of Fan Engagement (06:42)

  • Despite big spending, LIV failed to generate fan excitement or compelling tournament narratives, especially in the U.S.

    "For all the noise around LIV golf... Name the five greatest moments in LIV golf history... they would stumble to get past one or two."
    — Alan Shipnuk (06:51)

LIV Golf’s Collapse

• End of Saudi Backing (07:12)

  • After infusing $5 billion, PIF decided to halt funding LIV after the current season.
  • The league’s long-term prospects are uncertain; defecting players seek reconciliation with the PGA Tour.

• Political Calculation and the Iran War (07:49)

  • Andrew Lieber explains that Gulf states’ attempts to curry favor with the U.S. via high-profile investments proved ineffective for influencing Western foreign policy, especially as the Iran war shifted priorities.

    "That theory has now gone out the window."
    — Andrew Lieber (08:25)

Shifting Domestic Priorities

• Refocusing on Economic Development (08:34)

  • Investments in sectors like AI, data centers, and electric vehicles reflect a pivot toward initiatives likely to improve Saudi quality of life.

  • Concerns over domestic job creation outweigh prestige projects focused on foreign audiences.

    "It was much harder to justify spending billions of dollars on... non-Saudi golfers... when you have a growing concern at home in Saudi Arabia about... where are good jobs going to come from... to live lives similar to what they see in neighboring, wealthier Gulf states."
    — Andrew Lieber (08:34)

• Cultural Liberalization at Home (09:24)

  • Easing of social restrictions has fueled the growth of a domestic film, comedy, and podcast scene.
  • Vision 2030’s lasting cultural changes found more resonance inside Saudi Arabia than abroad.

Looking Ahead: Vision 2040?

• Rumors of a New Vision (09:43)

  • Discussion of a possible “Vision 2040” as Saudi Arabia reassesses its approach given mixed investment outcomes and economic pressures.

    "Between the mixed track record for some big investments and the economic pressures from the Iran war, it's unlikely that the Saudis will try another experiment like LIV Golf."
    — Darren Woods (09:43)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Trump’s Motivation:

  "...he had to build this entire network of clubs he owns just so he'd feel like he had a place to play."
  — Alan Shipnuk (05:36)

• On Sportswashing:

  "Money has driven professional sports in a profound way. But in golf, especially with the arrival of LIV, money has been the overriding topic."
  — Alan Shipnuk (02:51)

• On the Broader Lesson for Gulf States:

  "These states could pledge investments and make almost direct payments to president's family and... ensure... significant influence... That theory has now gone out the window."
  — Andrew Lieber (08:06)

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Timeline of Key Segments

• 00:11–00:45: Recap of Saudi’s ambitious international investments
• 02:11–03:09: Introduction to Vision 2030 and economic context
• 03:09–04:36: Origins of Saudi interest in golf, Khashoggi fallout
• 05:09–06:42: Launch of LIV Golf, Trump’s involvement
• 06:42–07:33: LIV’s struggles with ratings and fanbase
• 07:33–08:34: Political analysis with Andrew Lieber, fallout from Iran war
• 08:34–09:24: Shift to domestic development and society
• 09:43–10:04: Prospects for a Vision 2040

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Takeaways

• Saudi Arabia’s international “soft power” projects like LIV Golf have largely disappointed in shifting Western perspectives or yielding political influence.
• The changing geopolitical landscape and pressures at home are forcing Saudi leadership to prioritize domestic development over costly international prestige ventures.
• Vision 2030’s most impactful legacy may be in the quiet liberalization of Saudi society, rather than high-profile investments like LIV Golf.

For more insights and economic stories, tune in to The Indicator from Planet Money.

Transcript

[Sponsor/Ad Announcer]

Npr.

[Wayland Wong]

Saudi Arabia once had grandiose plans. There was a megaproject in the desert called Neom. Remember that one, Darius?

[Darren Woods]

I do very well. I did an episode on that two years ago.

[Wayland Wong]

That's right. A city encased in glass.

[Darren Woods]

The Saudi government was also going to pour millions of dollars into New York's Metropolitan Opera.

[Wayland Wong]

It's teaming up with President Trump's son in law and other investors to try to to buy video game company electronic arts for $55 billion.

[Darren Woods]

The Saudis also spent $5 billion on an international golf league called Live Golf.

[Wayland Wong]

These projects were an effort to diversify the Saudi economy beyond oil. But they were also about soft power, reputation laundering and raising the country's cultural profile. This is the indicator from Planet Money. I'm Wayland Wong.

[Darren Woods]

And I'm Darren Woods. Saudi leaders were already cooling on some of these investments and the war in Iran could be the final straw. Today on the show, we look at how geopolitics both fueled and doomed one of Saudi Arabia's splashy cultural endeavors. Its foray into professional golf.

[Sponsor/Ad Announcer]

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[Wayland Wong]

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled a big plan to broaden the country's economy beyond oil. He called it Vision 2030. The government would tap its massive sovereign wealth fund called the Public Investment Fund and it would use some of the fund's hundreds of billions of dollars on projects both inside, outside the country.

[Darren Woods]

Golf was a piece of this vision. Ellen Shipnuk has covered the Sport for over 30 years. He also wrote a book about live golf called Live and Let Die. Also, he's the son of an economist.

[Wayland Wong]

Do you think about economics a lot in your job covering golf and sports?

[Ellen Shipnuk]

Unfortunately, yes.

[Wayland Wong]

What do you mean unfortunately?

[Ellen Shipnuk]

I mean it would be nice if we could focus on the purity of the competition, but that's a very quaint old fashioned notion of money has driven professional Sports in a profound way. But in golf, especially with the arrival of liv, money has been the overriding topic in professional golf.

[Darren Woods]

And not just any money, but Saudi money from the public investment fund. Alan traces the Saudi interest in Gulf back to Yasser Al Rumayan. He's the governor of the public investment fund and he's the chairman of the state owned oil company.

[Ellen Shipnuk]

He loves golf, so that's been a driver. There's no question. If he loved beach volleyball, the Saudis probably would have invested in beach volleyball.

[Andrew Lieber]

But he.

[Wayland Wong]

There's a lot of sand. It's right there.

[Ellen Shipnuk]

Yeah.

[Darren Woods]

Ellen says the Saudis also saw golf as a potent diplomatic tool.

[Ellen Shipnuk]

The Saudis understood that the halls of power are most easily accessed with a golf club in your hand, because you could go to a economic forum and maybe you could have drinks at night, whatever it may be. But to go out and spend five hours with the people who run the United States economy and run the United States government, that is very enticing. And the bonds that are created on a golf course are profound.

[Wayland Wong]

In the world of professional men's golf, the PGA Tour holds an effective monopoly. It organizes competitions where players move up and down a metaphorical ladder. They win prize money for performing well, and the best players earn spots in the big tournaments like the US Open and the Masters.

[Darren Woods]

Then in 2019, Saudi Arabia hosted an international golf tournament. This was just months after Saudi agents assassinated Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. US Intelligence later determined that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the operation.

[Wayland Wong]

He has denied this. Despite the outcry over Khashoggi's murder. The golf tournament went on, and The Saudis paid $20 million in appearance fees to professional golfers. Allen says this amount of money was unheard of.

[Ellen Shipnuk]

The lesson for for the Saudis was that you can buy the goodwill of professional golf. You can buy the services of the players, and they will follow the money.

[Darren Woods]

In 2021, the Public Investment fund committed to backing a new venture called Live Golf Investments. Hall golfer Greg Norman was named as CEO.

[Wayland Wong]

LIV offered lavish signing bonuses to recruit marquee players like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson away from the PGA Tour. The league also needed venues to host tournaments. So it turned to a prominent golf lover with a bunch of courses bearing his name. Darian, you know where I'm going.

[Sponsor/Ad Announcer]

Yes, President Trump.

[Darren Woods]

Alan says, based on his experience covering the golf world, that Trump has always wanted to be a member at elite invite only golf clubs.

[Ellen Shipnuk]

You can buy the biggest, gaudiest house in Florida. And he did in Mar A lago. But Trump will never be accepted at Seminole Golf Club. He'll never get a membership at Augusta national or at Pine Valley or Cypress Point. They don't like new money. They don't like the way he conducts himself. And it burns Trump to the core that he cannot get into any of these clubs and in a way that a non golfer could never understand. And so he had to build this entire network of clubs he owns just so he'd feel like he had a place to play.

[Wayland Wong]

The golf courses are owned by the Trump Organization, which is run by the president's sons. And the PGA had stopped holding events at Trump owned courses after the January six riots.

[Ellen Shipnuk]

The only place he could host a tournament, the only people who were willing to acknowledge him in the game of golf was, was liv. It was the Saudis. When they launched their tour, they were desperate for venues and of course Trump raised his hand. It created this very unprecedented dynamic where a foreign government was paying a former president, now a sitting president, to host tournaments.

[Wayland Wong]

LIV had billions of dollars, marquee players and Trump's goodwill. What it didn't have, Allen says, was fans and ratings, especially in the US

[Ellen Shipnuk]

for all the noise around LIV golf, it's always the macro story, the money, the sports washing, the Trump factor. No one ever talks about the competition. Like you could ask the most die hard fan. Name the five greatest moments in LIV golf history like on the golf course and and they would stumble to get to past one or two.

[Darren Woods]

The Saudis ended up putting $5 billion into LIV Golf and they soured on their investment. Last month, the public investment fund said it would not be funding the league beyond the current season. LIV is now looking for money to keep going. Some players that defected to the league are trying to get back in the good graces of the pga.

[Wayland Wong]

LIV also postponed events, including a tournament that was supposed to be in New Orleans this summer. That is Andrew Lieber's home.

[Andrew Lieber]

Bas to the extent that these projects were aimed at changing perceptions of Saudi Arabia inside the United States or elsewhere, broadly, I don't think that they were successful.

[Darren Woods]

Andrew is a political scientist at Tulane University. He's also a non resident fellow with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Andrew says that the Iran war may have shown Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states that their efforts to curry favor with the US didn't add up too much.

[Andrew Lieber]

A theme of 2025 was the thought that these states could pledge investments and make almost direct payments to president's family and that would be enough to ensure that they had significant influence over what the United States does in the Middle east region, at least in terms of like, forestalling some major conflict. That theory has now gone out the

[Darren Woods]

window, and Andrew says even before the Iran war, Saudi officials were looking at Vision 2030 with a more critical eye.

[Andrew Lieber]

It was much harder to justify spending billions of dollars on primarily, almost entirely non Saudi golfers to participate in a rival golf league. Hard to spending millions of dollars on an opera house in New York when you have a growing concern at home in Saudi Arabia about not only where are jobs going to come from, but where are good jobs going to come from that are going to enable Saudis to live lives similar to what they see in neighboring, wealthier Gulf states.

[Wayland Wong]

Saudi Arabia has the largest economy among the Gulf states, but its per capita income is lower than Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi officials are now focusing on sectors they believe will benefit the domestic economy, like data centers and AI.

[Darren Woods]

The Sovereign wealth fund has also invested in the electric vehicle maker Lucid. The company is opening Saudi Arabia's first ever car factory.

[Wayland Wong]

Andrew says that the Vision 2030 cultural investments did bear some fruit, just not on the international stage. The government loosened restrictions on public entertainment and gender mixing in Saudi Arabia. As a result, he says, there's now a domestic film industry, a burgeoning comedy scene and Arabic language podcasts.

[Darren Woods]

As for Vision 2030, Andrew says he's heard rumblings of a revamped plan for the Future, a Vision 2040. Between the mixed track record for some big investments and the economic pressures from the Iran war, it's unlikely that the Saudis will try another experiment like Liv Golf.

[Wayland Wong]

This episode was produced by Julia Ritchie with engineering by Robert Rodriguez. It was fact checked by Vito Emanuel. Kicking Cannon is our show's editor and the indicator is a production of npr.

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