Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed has died at the age of 94. The former owner of upscale department store Harrods was also known for his son Dodi’s association with Princess Diana.
He was one of the most influential businessmen in Great Britain, he owned the luxury department store Harrods and the football club FC Fulham: Now Mohamed Al-Fayed has died at the age of 94. Al-Fayed died peacefully on Wednesday, according to a family statement distributed by the London football club.
Despite his extraordinary career as an entrepreneur, it was Princess Diana’s tragic accidental death that made the name of Mohamed Al-Fayed well-known in Germany. Because almost exactly 26 years ago, Al-Fayed’s eldest son Dodi died as Diana’s friend at her side in the Alma road tunnel in Paris.
Mohamed Al-Fayed became known in Germany through the accidental death of “Lady Di”. His son Dodi died at her side in the Alma road tunnel in Paris.
Never got over his son’s accidental death
Al-Fayed did not believe in an accident. He was convinced that the two had been murdered by order of the royal family because Diana, the mother of the future British king, should not marry a Muslim. Al-Fayed initiated various court cases.
I believe my son and Princess Diana were murdered by the royal family.”
The British judiciary invested eight million pounds in a mammoth trial and heard 240 witnesses for months. In 2008, a jury ruled that Diana and her boyfriend Dodi died in an accident caused by the driver of the crashed car and paparazzi. According to the court, it was negligent homicide.
The court labeled Al-Fayed’s allegations that Prince Philip ordered Diana’s murder and that the secret services organized it as a conspiracy theory. Mohamed Al-Fayed reacted angrily and saw the verdict as further evidence that it was rejected in Great Britain. For decades he had tried to gain access to London society, to the establishment.
Harrods in London is one of the most famous and exclusive department stores in the world. In May 2010, Al-Fayed sold the department store to investor Qatar Holding for an estimated €1.7 billion.
Al-Fayed: controversial personality with business acumen
The Egyptian-born’s breakthrough came after he met his first wife, Samira Khashoggi – the sister of Saudi millionaire arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi. Although the marriage lasted little more than two years, Al-Fayed founded his own shipping company.
In 1966 he became an advisor to one of the richest men in the world, the Sultan of Brunei. In 1974 he moved to the UK and sponsored events such as the Windsor Horse Show to establish contact with the royal family.
Together with his brother Ali, he bought the Ritz Hotel in Paris and after a bitter bidding war in 1985, he took over what is probably the most well-known department store in the world: Harrods. In doing so, he exaggerated his property situation, which probably led to his attempts to obtain British citizenship failing twice.
He informed the press that he had paid two Conservative ministers to ask questions on his behalf in the House of Commons. Both had to go. Another minister resigned after Al-Fayed revealed he was staying for free at the Ritz in Paris at the same time as a group of Saudi arms dealers. In 2010, Al-Fayed sold Harrods to the Qatari royal family.
In 1996 he acquired the London football club FC Fulham and led it into the Premier League with investments amounting to millions. In 2013 he sold the club.
In 1997 Al Fayed bought Fulham FC
It is credited to him that Fulham FC rose from the third division to the Premier League under his leadership. His charitable commitment is also recognized in obituaries. He gave generously and founded the “AlFayed Charitable Foundation” in 1987 to improve the lives of impoverished and ill youth.
Al-Fayed had recently largely withdrawn from the public limelight. He lived with his wife Heini, a Finnish ex-model, at his mansion in Surrey.