Sorry, Saudi pilots, no free Bentleys for you

From AFP:

A billionaire Saudi prince has purportedly deleted a controversial tweet in which he offered 100 luxury Bentley cars to air force pilots who took part in Saudi-led operations over Yemen.

The tweet cannot be found on the official account of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, @Alwaleed_Talal which has more than three million followers.

He chairs Riyadh-based Kingdom Holding Co, which has interests ranging from the Euro Disney theme park to Four Seasons hotels, Citigroup and media giant News Corporation.

A purported image of his message circulated on the Internet after Twitter users said it was removed from his account.

The message congratulated the Saudi government "on the success" of the initial 27-day air campaign against Iran-backed Shiite rebels in Yemen, and on the start of a new phase which began on Wednesday.

"In appreciation of the 100 Saudi pilots taking part, it honours me to present them with 100 Bentley cars," the message said, sparking criticism from other Twitter users.

Some accused him of being a "show off," while one said a gift of 100 warplanes "would have been more patriotic".

Alwaleed's office did not respond to messages seeking comment.