The eldest of the bin Laden brothers (a half-brother of Osama bin Laden), he acted as the patriarch of the bin Laden family after the death of his father Mohammed bin Laden. Salem managed the family's extensive investment portfolio (thought to be valued at around $16 billion). In 1978, Salem invested a relatively small part of the family's wealth (around $2.02 million) in US-based investment company Carlyle Group. During the same period George H. W. Bush (then former director of the CIA and future President of the United States) was employed by Carlyle.
This connection, and Salem's unusual death in a ultralight aircraft accident in Texas, have been cited in various conspiracy theories.