WASHINGTON:  Saudi royalty and American billionaires were in the front row for a speech in Riyadh where President Donald Trump condemned what he called past U.S. interference in the wealthy Gulf states.

Gone were the days when American officials would fly to the Middle East to give “you lectures on how to live, and how to govern your own affairs,” Trump said at a Saudi investment forum this week.

No one in the audience sat closer, or listened more intently, than Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.