While $200m is a relatively small sum compared to Saudi Arabia’s vast $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the decision is notable as the first sign that the war on Iran is denting Gulf financial commitments in the West.
Peter Gelb, the Met Opera’s general manager, told the NYT that the kingdom said its decision was based on damage to the country’s economy caused by the Iran war and the blockade of oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The storied Met Opera turned to Saudi Arabia in September 2025 for a financial lifeline. At the time, it had drawn down more than a third of the money in its endowment fund - about $120m - to fund operations.
The Saudi Arabians agreed to support the Met, and in return, the opera house agreed to a long-term pledge of conducting performances in the kingdom for three weeks during winter.
Saudi Arabia has ploughed billions of dollars into sports, arts and entertainment in a bid to diversify its economy beyond oil revenue.
Trying to improve their reputation so people think about things like this, and not the time Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman had journalist Jamal Khashoggi kidnapped and dismembered alive in the Saudi embassy in Istanbul while he watched over zoom.
Everybody always brings up the one slain journalist, but 9/11 was a little bit worse than that.
why? even Americans don’t care and happily clap like trained monkeys in all the Saudi spoonsored UFC and soccer matches