HONG KONG — With the arrest of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the prominent billionaire investor, Saudi Arabia has touched one of the richest and most influential investors in the world.

Among Prince Alwaleed’s crown jewels: sizable stakes in Twitter, Lyft, and Citigroup. He has gone into business with some of the corporate world’s biggest titans, including Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch, and Michael Bloomberg.

His investments span the globe, including the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris, the Savoy in London, and the Plaza in New York. He has also invested in the AccorHotels chain and Canary Wharf, the London business development.

So vast are his investments that he has been referred to as the Warren Buffett of the Middle East.

Prince Alwaleed’s arrest is likely to reverberate across dozens of companies around the world that count the investment company that he founded, Kingdom Holding Co., as a major investor or shareholder.

The move was part of a sweeping and unprecedented roundup of at least 10 other princes, four ministers and dozens of former ministers, hours after the Saudi ruler, King Salman, decreed the creation of a powerful new anticorruption committee, which is led by his favorite son and top adviser, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The arrests appeared to be Crown Prince Mohammed’s latest step to make good on his ambitious modernization plans and to further consolidate the remarkable degree of power he has amassed at age 32 over military, foreign, economic, and social policies. His ascent and brash approach have angered some members of the royal family.

Prince Alwaleed, with his Omar Sharif mustache, ubiquitous sunshades, and penchant for publicity, is a relatively flamboyant figure for the royal family and is one of the most high-profile Saudis internationally.

His arrest seems particularly aimed at demonstrating that no one is beyond the reach of the committee and the crown prince.

Perhaps in an extra tweak at his status, the arrested princes were said to be held in the Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh, and not in the Four Seasons owned by Prince Alwaleed.

The arrests come as Crown Prince Mohammed has forged a close relationship with President Trump, who shares his aggressive approach to Saudi’s regional rival, Iran, and a penchant for bold decisions.

Prince Alwaleed sparred with Trump on Twitter during the US presidential election, referring to him as a “disgrace not only to the GOP but to all America.’’

Trump fired back, also on Twitter, that he was a “dopey prince’’ trying to “control our US politicians with daddy’s money.’’

It could also shake investor confidence in Saudi Arabia as the kingdom tries to shed its image as an oil-dependent petrostate.

The move comes just days after Saudi Arabia held a major investment conference to drum up interest in that effort.

Prince Alwaleed made early bets on some of the technology world’s biggest stars, also including Snap, riding a boom that catapulted many young entrepreneurs to top the rich lists, and earned him handsome returns.

Prince Alwaleed also made an early bet on JD.com, a Chinese online retailer, anticipating that country’s emergence as a vast e-commerce market.

Prince Alwaleed has worked closely with some of Wall Street’s biggest and best known banks and investors.

Just a month ago, Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chairman and chief executive of Goldman Sachs, sat across from Prince Alwaleed at a meeting in Riyadh.

The two talked about investments and economic developments in the Middle East.