Mohamed al Fayed died on August 30, one day before the 26th anniversary of the fatal accident that cost the lives of Diana de Gales and her own son after the car they were traveling in crashed in a Paris tunnel, fleeing from the paparazzi.
The Egyptian businessman, who was 94 years old, was the owner of the Harrods department store, and his eldest son was having an affair with the wife of the current King of England when they lost their lives after colliding with the black Mercedes in which Carlos and Diana were traveling. they had divorced
“Mrs. Mohamed al Fayed, her children and grandchildren wish to confirm that her beloved husband, father and grandfather, Mohamed, died peacefully of old age on Wednesday, August 30, 2023,” the statement issued by the football club reads. London-based Fulham FC, which was owned by Al Fayed.
“He enjoyed a long and full retirement surrounded by his loved ones. The family has asked that his privacy be respected at this time,” the letter added.
Mohamed al Fayed was born in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, the son of a school teacher, and began his professional career selling soft drinks and sewing machines. He began to become more well known when he married his first wife, Samira Khashoggi, sister of Saudi millionaire Adnan Khashoggi.
After his wedding, Mohamed al Fayed developed a brilliant and very profitable career as a businessman. He started his own shipping business and had the support of the millionaire Sultan of Brunei, to whom he became his adviser.
In 1975, already in the United Kingdom, he briefly served on the board of directors of the Lonrho mining conglomerate. Four years later, he bought the Paris Ritz hotel together with his brother Ali. Many years later, his son and the Princess of Wales left that hotel for the last time before dying in the accident that ended their lives and their romance in the worst of ways.
The Al Fayed brothers bought the emblematic London store Harrods, in 1985, after getting a takeover bid of 615 million pounds sterling (about 717 million euros) for the Knightsbridge department store.
In 1997, Al Fayed bought the London soccer club Fulham FC for 6.25 million pounds (about 7.29 million euros), which he sold in 2013 to billionaire businessman Shahid Khan.
Denunciation campaign for the deaths of his son and the Princess of Wales
The Egyptian tycoon was also known for his confrontations with the United Kingdom Government over its refusal to grant him British citizenship despite years of residence on the islands. But the now deceased Egyptian billionaire became very famous after starting a campaign to try to prove that the deaths of his son Dodi and Diana of Wales. Al Fayed were not accidental but a plot organized by the British security services.
Long before his son and William and Harry’s mother became more than friends, Al Fayed himself had struck up a friendly relationship with Princess Diana, notably through his patronage of charities in which she was present as a member. of the royal family.