Iran War Will Drive Gulf Petrodollar Capital Flight To…Hollywood

BusinessEnergyIran War Will Drive Gulf Petrodollar Capital Flight To…HollywoodByAriel Cohen,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Ariel Cohen is a D.C.-based contributor who covers energy and securityFollow AuthorApr 21, 2026, 09:30am EDTProlific Saudi Investor Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal marks the USD 450 million listing with a bell-ringing ceremony at Nasdaq Dubai, highlighting the strong ties with Dubai Financial Market (DFM) (Photo by Anushka Eranga/NurPhoto via Getty Images).NurPhoto via Getty ImagesInvestors in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates who accumulated trillions from decades of oil sales have long been deploying sovereign wealth funds into Western assets. Their money has gone into technology, sports, infrastructure, real estate, and entertainment. That strategy was built on a simple premise: petrodollar revenues generated at home could be channeled abroad into stable, high-return sectors. Iran’s attacks since February on energy infrastructure, airports, hotels, and other sites in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, are transforming the external perception of the Gulf states as safe zones and forcing an internal re-evaluation of their security strategies. It is also keeping the pressure on Arab national wealth fund managers to get a chunk of their hard-earned billions away from the Iranian rockets and drones and into Western pockets, including those of Hollywood studio moguls. In more progressive circles, the debate over the proposed Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merger has been framed as a fight over the future of Hollywood amid fears of job losses, media concentration, and newsroom independence.. Actor-activists like Marc Ruffalo, Jane Fonda, Glen Close, Emma Thompson, and others have joined the Future Film Coalition (“Independent Voices. Collective Power.”) in organizing against the deal, most recently by planning to protest a dinner thrown by the Paramou...