The Power of Friendship: Mohamed A. Khashoggi & Thomas S. Kaplan on Enduring Partnerships in a Complicated World

Join 92NY Talks Chairman Thomas S. Kaplan and his longtime friend Mohamed A. Khashoggi for an intimate conversation moderated by their friend Charlie Rose in which they will discuss on politics, faith, loyalty, and what has made their multi-decade partnership so rewarding. 

Their story begins in a Swiss boarding school nearly a half century ago where the two teenagers forged a bond that would shape their lives. Respectively their first Jewish and Muslim confidant, they quickly became best friends. Khashoggi, a Saudi national raised in Lebanon, taught his companion about the Arab world, Middle Eastern culture, and the breadth of the Muslim faith. Kaplan’s edification centered on what it meant to be a pro-Israeli, practicing Jew in the diaspora in the late twentieth century. 

After high school, their friendship only deepened. Both knew one another’s families, studied history at Oxford, and went on to create joint business ventures — all the while staying aligned on the broader Arab-Israeli conflict. 

The exchanges that Kaplan and Khashoggi have on the region’s geopolitics depart significantly from the norm. Their experiences as direct witnesses to some of the most transformative events that shaped the modern Middle East is as riveting as it is rich — from personal encounters with leaders including Yasser Arafat, Muammar Gaddafi, and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to firsthand exposure to Iran-Contra, the Oslo peace process, the Abraham Accords, and the existential threat posed by Iran to Arabs and Israelis alike.

Today, they travel the world together, and are in the process of writing memoirs chronicling their extraordinary life journeys. Their endeavors span the gamut from intense engagement with the issues of the Middle East at the highest levels -- to pursuing wildlife conservation causes through the non-profit organization Panthera and the Indian Ocean Tortoise Alliance. At present, Khashoggi is writing and producing a documentary that explores the modern manifestation of imperial Iran’s age-old obsession with the Arab-speaking world - an enduring ambition that he submits has devastated Arab communities across the region.

This is more than a dialogue between two old friends - it is a testament to the power of mutual understanding, and a vision for what an enduring partnership can accomplish in a divided world.