Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden ( 10 March 1957 , Riyadh , Saudi Arabia â `` 2 May 2011 , Abbottabad , Pakistan ) was an Islamic fundamentalist , the founder and head of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization . He was a member of the very rich bin Laden family . Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden ( , ' ; born March 10 , 1957 ) is a member of the wealthy Saudi bin Laden family and the founder of the jihadist organization al-Qaeda , most widely recognized for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets .