Salem bin Laden

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Salem bin Mohammed bin 'Awad bin Laden ^[1] (1946—May 29, 1988) was a Saudi Arabian investor.

One of the eldest of the bin Laden brothers (a half-brother and cousin of Osama bin Laden), he acted as the patriarch of the bin Laden family after the 1967 death of his father Mohammed bin Laden. Salem managed the family's extensive investment portfolio (thought to be valued at around $16 billion).

Salem bin Laden was, through James R. Bath, an investor in Arbusto Energy, a small 1970s oil company run by Bath's close friend, George W. Bush.

Political connections and Salem's unusual death in an ultralight aircraft accident outside San Antonio, Texas, have been cited in various conspiracy theories.

A 2001 news article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reportedly states that Salem bin Laden died when he accidentally drifted into high voltage electrical power lines adjacent to the Kitty Hawk Field of Dreams Ultra-Lite Flying Field at the edge of Schertz, a northeastern San Antonio suburb.

The article also reportedly states that Salem bin Laden died due to injuries when the Sprint ultra-light aircraft fell 115 feet to the ground after the wire strike, and that he was also not wearing a safety helmet at the time. The NTSB didn't conduct an accident investigation since it was an ultra-light aircraft, which wasn't covered by their mandate. The Schertz Police, who did attend to the accident site, stated in their report that Salem died in a freak accident.

The same news article also reportedly contains references to Osama bin Laden and to Binladen Aviation ^[2] ^[3].