LONDON — Mohamed Al Fayed, the flamboyant Egypt-born businessman whose son was killed in a automotive crash with Princess Diana, died this week, his household mentioned Friday. He was 94.
Al Fayed, the longtime proprietor of Harrods division retailer and the Fulham Soccer Membership, was devastated by the loss of life of son Dodi Fayed within the automotive crash in Paris with Diana 26 years in the past. He spent years mourning the loss and combating the British institution he blamed for his or her deaths.
“Mrs Mohamed Al Fayed, her kids and grandchildren want to affirm that her beloved husband, their father and their grandfather, Mohamed, has handed away peacefully of previous age on Wednesday August 30, 2023,″ his household mentioned in a press release launched by the Fulham membership. “He loved a protracted and fulfilled retirement surrounded by his family members.″
Al Fayed was satisfied Dodi and Diana had been killed in a conspiracy masterminded by Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. He maintained the royal household organized the accident as a result of they didn’t like Diana relationship an Egyptian. Al Fayed claimed that Diana was pregnant and planning to marry Dodi and that the royal household couldn’t countenance the princess marrying a Muslim.
In 2008, Al Fayed instructed an inquest the checklist of alleged conspirators included Philip, two former London police chiefs and the CIA.
The inquest concluded that Diana and Dodi died due to the reckless actions of their driver — an worker of the Ritz Resort owned by Al Fayed — and paparazzi chasing the couple. Separate inquiries within the U.Ok. and France additionally concluded there was no conspiracy.
Al Fayed’s relationship with the royal household was just lately depicted in season 5 of “The Crown,” during which the billionaire, performed by Salim Daw, will get to know Diana.
The son of a faculty inspector, Al Fayad was born on Jan. 27, 1929, in Alexandria, Egypt. After early investments in transport in Italy and the Center East, he moved to Britain within the Sixties and began constructing an empire.
On the top of his wealth, Al Fayed owned the Ritz lodge in Paris and Fulham soccer staff in London in addition to Harrods, the posh division retailer within the capital’s tony Knightsbridge neighborhood.
The Sunday Instances Wealthy Listing, which paperwork the fortunes of Britain’s wealthiest individuals, put the household’s fortune at 1.7 billion kilos ($2.1 billion) this 12 months, rating Al Fayed because the 104th richest individual within the nation.
Al Fayed first hit the headlines within the Nineteen Eighties when he battled with rival tycoon “Tiny” Rowland for management of the Home of Fraser group, which included Harrods.
Al Fayed and his brother purchased a 30% stake in Home of Fraser for 130 million kilos in 1985. They paid a further 615 million kilos to take full management the next 12 months.
That transaction sparked an investigation by the Division of Commerce and Business, which concluded Al Fayed and his brother had “dishonestly misrepresented their origins, their wealth, their enterprise pursuits and their assets.” Regardless of these findings, the deal was allowed to undergo.
Al Fayed was additionally a key participant within the “money for questions” scandal that roiled British politics within the Nineteen Nineties.
Al Fayed was sued for libel by a British lawmaker, Neil Hamilton, after the businessman claimed he had given Hamilton envelopes of money and a lavish keep on the Ritz in Paris, in return for asking questions within the Home of Commons.
Hamilton’s lawyer, Desmond Browne, claimed the allegation was fantasy, saying: ″If there have been Olympic medals for mendacity, Mr. Fayed could be a chief contender for a gold one.”
A jury present in Al Fayed’s favor in December 1999.
However he was by no means accepted by the British institution. The federal government twice rejected his functions for citizenship, although the explanations had been by no means launched publicly.
Al Fayed purchased underdog London soccer staff Fulham in 1997, and spent lavishly on coaches and gamers to enhance its efficiency. It was a hit, with the membership profitable promotion to the Premier League in 2001.
Al Fayed was additionally buddies with Michael Jackson and had a statue of the pop star erected exterior Fulham’s London stadium in 2011, two years after Jackson’s loss of life.
By no means well-liked with Fulham followers, it was eliminated in 2013 by Al Fayed’s successor as staff proprietor, Shahid Khan.