Osama Bin Laden lived on tight budget, spending wealth on terror

Osama bin Laden spent all his personal wealth on jihad, considering meat and electricity as luxuries so he could save his money to help fund terrorist attacks, according to his deputy and successor.

Al-Qaeda’s new leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, in the second of his “Days with the Imam” series of online videos, said yesterday that bin Laden would, however, pay readily for hospitality for his guests. Although he lived mostly on bread and vegetables, he once invested in a herd of sheep, to slaughter when visitors came.

Al-Zawahri became head of al-Qaeda after bin Laden was killed in a US raid last year.

He is believed to lack his predecessor’s personal authority in the terrorist network, and may be trying to boost his popularity by emphasising his closeness to the more charismatic bin Laden.

Bin Laden was born to a wealthy family, but ran into financial troubles after he was pushed out of Sudan in 1996, al-Zawahri said.

Shortly after, al-Zawahri said, Bin Laden spent $50,000 to help finance 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania at a time when he only had $55,000 to his name. Those bombings killed 224 people. Bin Laden’s personal wealth also helped finance the 11 September, 2001, attacks on the United States.

“He is well-known for living austerely but spent all his money for jihad,” al-Zawahri said.

But the terrorist leader was “generous to his guests by slaughtering sheep for them.”

Al-Zawahri said bin Laden used to encourage the mujahideen – “holy warriors” – to live an austere lifestyle.

“Luxury is the enemy of jihad and if the mujahideen were brought up to live in asceticism, they would tolerate the burden of jihad,” al-Zawahri quoted bin Laden as saying.