This Saudi man went on Snapchat to say he's given $16bn to charity

We all know Saudis are in love with SnapChat ... but this Saudi businessman has just taken this love to a whole level. 

By revealing the extent of his charity efforts through the social media platform, Sheikh Suleiman al-Rajhi got thousands to tune into the SnapChat interview, conducted by social media star Mansour al-Reqeiba.

$16 billion (60 billion riyals) is the amount of money he has donated throughout his lifetime, he said - an amount that is considered one of the largest endowments made in the Islamic world and which has yet to be matched. 

He has given away two-thirds of his entire wealth to charity in the form of waqf -an Islamic endowment- and the remaining one-third to his family. 

Rajhi is said to have 23 children. 

Rajhi is a big name in the business world. In 2011, his wealth was estimated at $7.7 billion by Forbes, making him one of the richest people in the world. 

He is the founder of Al-Rajhi Bank, the largest Islamic bank in the world, and one of the largest companies in Saudi Arabia. 

The Rajhi family is considered to be Saudi Arabia's wealthiest non-royals and one of the world's leading philanthropists, whose wealth was built from scratch. 

According to Arab News, Rajhi comes from humble beginnings. Through hard work and determination, he became the successful businessman that he is today.  

As part of his philanthropy, he established the Sulaiman Al Rajhi University, a non-profit university that focuses mainly on health and Islamic banking. 

In 2012, Rajhi received the King Faisal International Prize for dedicating half his fortune to charity as well as starting an Islamic bank that supports charity work and implements effective national projects. 

Apart from that, Rajhi has dedicated his bank shares (worth $3.7 billion, according to Forbes Middle East), his poultry farm and other assets to a charitable endowment that funds anti-hunger efforts and education in the kingdom.

Islamic endowment, also known as "waqf," refers to the donation of valuable goods including money, buildings, land or other assets to the public - with no intention of reclaiming them back. 

The donated assets are no longer owned by anybody and cannot be bought or sold, nor can they be used for generating profit. 

There is no direct mention of waqf in the Quran, but it is derived from a number of hadiths.