People

Ben Hubbard

Ben Hubbard

Formal First Name
Benjamin (Ben)
Location

Ben Hubbard is the Istanbul Bureau Chief for The New York Times, where he leads the coverage in Turkey. A veteran of the international desk, Ben has reported from Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Yemen, to name just a few. He has over a decade of experience in the Middle East, having covered coups, civil wars, protests, jihadist groups, religion, and pop culture from a dozen countries. Ben is best known for uncovering the plight of scores of minors locked in prison, delving into Syria’s rise as a narco state and unpacking the ruthless politics of the Saudi royal family. Prior to joining The Times, he worked at The Associated Press where he and his colleagues were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting in 2013 for coverage of the war in Syria.

Professional Experience


Academic History

MBS

  • MBS is a riveting, eye-opening account of how the young prince has wielded vast powers to reshape his kingdom and the world around him.

  • MBS is the untold story of how a mysterious young prince overhauled the economy and society, and gathered as much power as possible into his own hands.

  • MBS reveals the machinations behind the kingdom’s catastrophic military intervention in Yemen, the bizarre detention of princes and businessmen in the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton.

  • It sheds new light on the greatest scandal of the young autocrat’s rise: the brutal killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul, a crime that shook Saudi Arabia’s relationship with Washington and left the world wondering whether MBS could get away with murder.

  • According to the Times, MBS is a gripping, behind-the-scenes portrait of the rise of Saudi Arabia's secretive and mercurial new ruler.


JOURNALISM

  • He has reported about Syria and its catastrophic war, including the government's use of chemical weapons against civilians.

  • He reconstructed the raids that resulted in the deaths of Islamic State leaders like Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

  • He explored how Iran used the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to turn the tide of war in favor of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria.

  • He investigated the smugglers, businessmen and profiteers who facilitated the great migration of Syrians and other refugees across the Mediterranean to Greece.

  • He investigated how strikes by the Saudi-led military coalition were effectively dismantling the economy of the Arab world’s poorest country.