Who will live in "The Line" in Saudi Arabia if it does get built?

NEOM claims that it's meant to house a diverse population with "professionals, families, and tourists", but how realistic is that expectation?

The Line is taking up lots of money and resources with estimates for current construction already in the tens of billions (total estimates from hundreds of millions to several trillion USD).

It just seems like this sort of project would be mainly advertised towards the wealthy, not the average person. I don't think they'd necessarily try to make up for the potentially trillions spent on the project, if it's even possible, but I do think they'd be more inclined to accept wealthy individuals to live there. But then the question is: who will work there? Maybe they'd bring in workers, offer them housing, etc. But then what? What will the opportunities for career growth look like?

When I think of The Line, I see clear separation of the rich and poor. Maybe I'm thinking back to sci-fi movies and TV too much, but this scenario makes me imagine a trashy lower level type of situation. I think their idea is that The Line will function just like any other city. The generated blueprints and renders make it look like a utopia.

It is an interesting use of money. I'm sure most could agree that money can be used for something much more useful. Saudi Arabia has relatively high poverty rates. Why not help those people and create a futuristic society that way?

Posted Dec 29, 2025, 6:40 PM UTC

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