David Kenner is exploring the economic changes underway in Saudi Arabia. He is focusing on how the new generation of Saudis is adapting to that change, and its members’ hopes for the years ahead. David has reported widely from across the Middle East for more than a decade. He was Foreign Policy‘s Middle East editor from 2013 until 2018, when he guided the magazine’s regional coverage while based in Egypt and Lebanon. A lifelong student of Arabic, David is a graduate of Georgetown University, and also attended the American University of Beirut. He is particularly interested in how American values and interests intersect with Middle Eastern politics.
Dispatches from David Kenner
ICIJ: David Kenner on spyware firm Intellexa
“‘Predator’ spyware firm Intellexa resurgent after US sanctions,” by David Kenner (Saudi Arabia, 2019 – 2021), International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, August 12, 2025ICIJ: David Kenner on the fall of a Pentagon contractor’s empire
“How a Pentagon contractor built a global empire—and a massive tax evasion scheme,” by David Kenner (Saudi Arabia, 2019 – 2021), International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, May 23, 2025ICIJ: David Kenner on Qatari royal investing in Newsmax
“Qatari royal invested about $50 million in pro-Trump network Newsmax,” by David Kenner (Saudi Arabia, 2019 – 2021), Sarah Ellison and Jonathan O’Connell, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, March 26, 2024