Mohamed Al Fayed, the former owner of Harrods and father of Dodi Fayed, who tragically died alongside Princess Diana in a car crash, has passed away at the age of 94.
The Egyptian-born business magnate, who had amassed a substantial business empire in the Middle East before relocating to the United Kingdom in the 1970s, never realized his aspiration of acquiring British citizenship.
During his later years, Al Fayed largely withdrew from the public eye, residing in his Surrey estate alongside his wife, Heini. His family confirmed his peaceful passing due to old age on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.
Fulham Football Club, which Al Fayed had owned for an extended period, expressed deep sadness at his death.
They acknowledged his significant contributions to the club, which included promoting it to the Premier League and achieving notable successes. Shahid Khan, Al Fayed’s successor at the club, paid tribute to his positive impact and legacy.
Journalist Piers Morgan, in response to Al Fayed’s passing, described him as an “extraordinary tour de force of a man” who never recovered from the loss of his son Dodi. Morgan characterized Al Fayed as a complex figure and expressed a fondness for him.
Mohamed Al Fayed’s journey from selling soft drinks on the streets of Alexandria to becoming a prominent business figure was marked by several crucial encounters, including his marriage to Samira Khashoggi, the sister of Saudi millionaire arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi.
This connection led him to a role in Khashoggi’s import business in Saudi Arabia. Following the marriage’s dissolution after two years, Al Fayed established his own shipping company.
In 1966, he became an adviser to one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, the Sultan of Brunei.
Al Fayed relocated to the United Kingdom in 1974 and, in 1979, acquired the Ritz hotel in Paris alongside his brother Ali for £20 million.
The brothers later purchased Harrods in 1985 for £615 million after a fierce bidding war with the Lonrho group, a mining conglomerate.
During his ownership, Fulham FC experienced remarkable success, ascending from the third tier to the Premier League. Al Fayed was renowned for his philanthropic efforts, particularly his generous contributions to institutions such as Great Ormond Street Hospital.
He was deeply committed to aiding underprivileged and unwell children, leading to the establishment of the Al Fayed Charitable Foundation in 1987.
The Ritz hotel in Paris was the starting point for Dodi Fayed, a film producer, and his then-partner, Princess Diana, before the fatal car crash that claimed their lives in 1997.
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Mohamed Al Fayed never recovered from the shock of this tragedy and became engrossed in speculations surrounding their deaths. His testimony during the 2008 inquest included allegations that the deaths were orchestrated by Prince Philip and involved the complicity of MI6. These claims were ultimately dismissed as “conspiracy theories” by the coroner and rejected by the jury.
Al Fayed made two unsuccessful attempts to secure British citizenship. In 1995, following the second rejection, he publicly asserted that he had paid two Conservative ministers, Neil Hamilton and Tim Smith, to raise questions about his interests in the House of Commons.
Both ministers left the government, and Neil Hamilton, who denied the allegation, lost a libel case to Al Fayed. Additionally, another politician, Jonathan Aitken, a cabinet minister at the time, resigned when it was revealed that he had stayed at the Ritz in Paris, along with a group of Saudi arms dealers.
In 2010, Mohamed Al Fayed sold Harrods to the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar, with nearly half of the purchase price being used to clear the company’s debts.
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