Ryan Knutson

They included plans for something called The Vault, a glittering glass building filled with stores and hotels that Andy said they were going to have to dynamite part of a mountain to build.

They included plans for something called The Vault, a glittering glass building filled with stores and hotels that Andy said they were going to have to dynamite part of a mountain to build.

They included plans for something called The Vault, a glittering glass building filled with stores and hotels that Andy said they were going to have to dynamite part of a mountain to build.

The master plan also called for an artificial lake with a dam that bowed outward in defiance of traditional engineering. Plus that desert ski resort Andy was trying to build. And that wasn't all.

The master plan also called for an artificial lake with a dam that bowed outward in defiance of traditional engineering. Plus that desert ski resort Andy was trying to build. And that wasn't all.

The master plan also called for an artificial lake with a dam that bowed outward in defiance of traditional engineering. Plus that desert ski resort Andy was trying to build. And that wasn't all.

The Wall Street Journal obtained some early concept art for these mansions and palaces, and the designs are wild. One palace looks like a ribbon of molten metal suspended over a canyon. Another reminded me of the Eye of Sauron from the Lord of the Rings, a pointy black tower with a red light beaming out the top.

The Wall Street Journal obtained some early concept art for these mansions and palaces, and the designs are wild. One palace looks like a ribbon of molten metal suspended over a canyon. Another reminded me of the Eye of Sauron from the Lord of the Rings, a pointy black tower with a red light beaming out the top.

The Wall Street Journal obtained some early concept art for these mansions and palaces, and the designs are wild. One palace looks like a ribbon of molten metal suspended over a canyon. Another reminded me of the Eye of Sauron from the Lord of the Rings, a pointy black tower with a red light beaming out the top.

To Andy, the mansions and palaces just didn't make sense.

To Andy, the mansions and palaces just didn't make sense.

To Andy, the mansions and palaces just didn't make sense.

Neo Mountain was getting more expensive. It's a trend that would continue long after Andy left the project. Reporter Elliot Brown saw some internal NEOM documents from 2023. By this time, NEOM Mountain had been renamed Trojena.

Neo Mountain was getting more expensive. It's a trend that would continue long after Andy left the project. Reporter Elliot Brown saw some internal NEOM documents from 2023. By this time, NEOM Mountain had been renamed Trojena.

Neo Mountain was getting more expensive. It's a trend that would continue long after Andy left the project. Reporter Elliot Brown saw some internal NEOM documents from 2023. By this time, NEOM Mountain had been renamed Trojena.

But as Neom's costs ballooned, it didn't seem to change the project's course. That 2024 audit Neom conducted suggests one reason why. Elliot got a look at a version of that audit. It was labeled Final Draft. And it's pretty damning. According to Neom's auditors and Elliott's own reporting, as costs rose, rather than push for cutbacks to Neom, executives sometimes just fudged the numbers.

But as Neom's costs ballooned, it didn't seem to change the project's course. That 2024 audit Neom conducted suggests one reason why. Elliot got a look at a version of that audit. It was labeled Final Draft. And it's pretty damning. According to Neom's auditors and Elliott's own reporting, as costs rose, rather than push for cutbacks to Neom, executives sometimes just fudged the numbers.

But as Neom's costs ballooned, it didn't seem to change the project's course. That 2024 audit Neom conducted suggests one reason why. Elliot got a look at a version of that audit. It was labeled Final Draft. And it's pretty damning. According to Neom's auditors and Elliott's own reporting, as costs rose, rather than push for cutbacks to Neom, executives sometimes just fudged the numbers.

IRRs are basically the percentage of a project's costs that come back to you every year as profit. Now, a lot of what Saudi Arabia was spending on at Neom wasn't supposed to make money. It was infrastructure, stuff like roads and utilities. But other stuff definitely was supposed to be profitable, like the hotels or the apartments they were going to sell on the line.

IRRs are basically the percentage of a project's costs that come back to you every year as profit. Now, a lot of what Saudi Arabia was spending on at Neom wasn't supposed to make money. It was infrastructure, stuff like roads and utilities. But other stuff definitely was supposed to be profitable, like the hotels or the apartments they were going to sell on the line.