The stuff of fairy tales: That is how one can best describe Dr. Moosa Bin Shamsher- often called the Prince of Princes by the global press. His dress sewn with golden thread, his buttons and cufflinks, worked with diamond, his shoes studded with diamond and rubies, he baths in rose water -a regal lifestyle indeed. A man of fabulous wealth who also likes to live it up in great style. A total perfectionist, Prince Moosa, loves the best things in life. Nobody knows for sure how he ac­quired his colossal wealth but many believe it is in­ternational trade that has given Prince Moosa his fabled wealth.

It is the Midas touch in real life. Everything that Moosa touched has become a money spinner. There is almost no sector where he has not invest­ed. His investment port­folio includes internation­al trade, contracting, real estate, project financing, and labor force contract­ing. He rarely speaks about his wealth. Never­theless, media men have descended upon him to find out the mystery of this man, who seems to be larger than life. What they have found is even more strange.

He started his career by cutting a deal in the Persian Gulf countries. The renowned Syrian-born businessman Akram Wajeh, who is also a friend of the Saudi roy­al family, introduced him to the world of high finance. Initially, Ak­ram was a mentor of Moosa. The dis­ciple was a quick learner and was soon to surpass the expectations of his guru.

This man has not only a knack for investing in the right things but also a great jest for life. His enthusi­asm is almost infectious. As one Aus­tralian journalist found out that he had more than forty wrist watches, which are both exquisite and expen­sive. He has in his collection innu­merable shoes and more than ten thousand suits. The world's most ex­pensive ties, belts, shirts and trou­sers belong to him. His ultra-modern car has a bed, bath, kitchen, phone and Internet connections.

Many have compared Shamsher to the fabled diamond king, the only difference being that this time it is in real life. It is said that Dr. Moosa's diamond studded shoes are worth eighteen thousand US dollars. The diamond studded watch that he uses is valued at fifty thousand bucks. Surprisingly, this fashion king, pre­fers to do his shopping in Saudi Ara­bia. In an interview with the Saudi newspaper, Al-Riad, he praised the country's markets for their great variety. It is said that this Banglade­shi tycoon spends five crore takas on his cloth­ing every year. Predicta­bly, he does not wear the same dress twice.

The high-flying life style of Prince Moosa has spun other kind of stories too. "A handsome prince in Diana's eyes"- a story run by a British tabloid caught the imagination of the public for some time. This set of a long string of rumors and many nick­named him the "king of kings". A number of pub­lications like the Times of London, Telegraph, Guardian and Far East­ern Review published pic­torial reports labeling him "the Prince of Prin­ces", "stylist of the East", "the mysterious prince", "dream son of the East", etc.

Prince Moosa shot to fame when he offered five million pounds to Tony Blair, then leader of the opposition, during his first bid for power in 1994. Although Mr. Blair had to turn it down for technical reasons, the donor being a foreigner, Prince Moosa counts the British prime minister among his close friends. A shrewd judge of hu­man character Moosa always knew who had the material of a "rising sun". Dubbed as the "friend of the rich and powerful" by many in the media, Prince Moosa gave his pri­vate Lear jet to Bob Dole during the latter's presidential campaign.

Nobody knows for sure how much the prince is worth. People only spec­ulate. A Greek newspaper once ran a story, Is Prince Moosa Buying Up Greece? Moosa had just sealed the purchase of a luxury seven star hotel in Greece that counted among the na­tional heritage sites. His hospital business chain too remains in wraps as the Prince likes to travel en mufti. Checking into a hotel as a common boarder, he likes to keep an eye on the quality of services provided.

A few years back a newspa­per estimated that he was worth at least three billion US dollars or even more, which must have increased a lot meanwhile. It is generally agreed that Prince Moosa is the youngest billionaire of the world. When the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCl) was closed down in the early '90s he lost millions of dol­lars that he had kept there. This was the first time that the world came to know about his great wealth.

A string of offices through­out the world is maintained through an ultra-sophisticated software that the prince carries with him everywhere. A highly educated man, Prince Shamsher obtained his Ph.D. in eco­nomics from the Berkley cam­pus of California. Son of a modest government officer, Moosa showed early promise in his school­days. By dint of sheer merit and hard work the Prince rose to his present position.

The globally reputed wealthy Prince Moosa Bin Shamsher lives in one of the biggest, modern architec­tural splendours of our time, made of marble that can be easily called a 'palace of our times'. It is learnt that his bedroom is filled with exquisite and decorative pieces and covers twelve hundred square feet of space. In his modern day palace, he has fifty servants to serve him, who are al­ways dressed in dinner jackets. His Dhaka office, DATCO, is also reputed to be as well-decorated. His other offi­ces in New York, Zurich, London and elsewhere, are equally well-designed. The clean, well-organized offices are state-of-the art and runs along the best global practices. All officers wear gracefully designed suits of the latest design.

A kind man, Prince Moosa, donates extensively to charities.In the floods of 1988 that swept much of his homeland-Bangladesh-under Moosa personally went out to provide succor to his countrymen, It was a trying time for him but he did not hesitate.

A shy man who shuns publicity Prince Moosa spends much of his time roaming around the world scout­ing for the next business opportunity and the best retreats in the world. Despite his global presence Prince Moosa always returns to his native land for relaxation and inspiration. In a palatial house befitting that of a prince of the Arabian nights, Shamsher lounges in his gracefully decorated home. The wall-to-wall car­pets, the Italian stones and the finest timber adorn his home. A visiting In­dian journalist was so moved by the beauty of Shamsher's home that he went back and wrote a piece in Hindi. "Sapna Ka Sowdagar" (The Merchant of Dreams).

It is indeed surprising that such a man could emerge from such a poor country like Bangladesh. Indeed, it was a hard battle won. He scourged the world in search of the coveted treasure and he finally found it. But Prince Moosa is not one to be contented with his laurels. He aims to attain even higher goals. For him, the sky is the limit. He also dreams of the day when all his countrymen will be pros­perous.

He believes that when one awak­ens to the inner strength he can ach­ieve any goal. In an interview with a foreign journalist he was quoted as saying, "If one does not awaken, he is only dreaming". "One must first awaken from slumber to release one's potential within. Remember always what the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve". He goes on, "If you believe you are capable of achieving greatness, you will, but you must believe it long before it be­comes real." This is his insight into human character.

Dr. Moosa Bin Shamsher has with his intrinsic and extrinsic val­ues, attained the excellent qualities of head, heart and hand verily con­forming to the great lessons of Gau­tama Buddha, "Give, Control and Sympathy. On several occasions, as he appeared before the world media facing professional giants, like Steve Forbes, George Cody and Nigel Farn-dale he made clarion calls for, world peace and development which revert­ed and ricocheted throughout 4 cor­ners of the globe. So, as an adored ce­lebrity he has virtually become pride and prejudice not only for his land of birth Bangladesh, but also for all oth­er Third World countries. I am in­clined to close my story by represent­ing what the 'Image Nepal' in its issue published on June 1994 com­mented through special correspond­ent on Dr. Moosa while profiling him as a great personality, "I can say without any fear of contradiction that Nepal, a very close neighbor of Ban­gladesh and also a SAARC member country is very proud of this eminent personality. Dr. Moosa Bin Shamsh­er. I wish Nepal were blessed with a gifted son and personality like Dr. Moosa. I wish him a long prosperous life with the immaculate style of his living."

(The writer is the former Editor, The Bangladesh Illustrated week­ly, the Executive Editor, the Illus­trated Weekly of Korea and the Editor, The Muslim Times Inter­national.)