Mohamed Al-Fayed was among the wealthiest Egyptians who made tonnes of money mostly in Europe. The billionaire, who died on August 30, 2023, once owned upmarket property in London and Paris exclusive neighborhoods.
But what probably has stuck in people’s memory is that he was the father of Dodi Al-Fayed, the man who was dating Princess Diana and died alongside her in an accident. Following the death of Dodi and Diana, Al-Fayed questioned the circumstances around the accident.
Al-Fayed’s success story did not start in Europe, according to reports on his vast empire, it started in the Middle East before he moved to the UK where he built an empire, at one point owning Harrods, a supermarket, and Ritz in Paris.
Even in death, little was known about his childhood and early life. His business exploits, however, are well documented. According to media reports, Al-Fayed gave conflicting and contradictory accounts of his upbringing, which made it hard to understand his roots.
He rose from selling drinks on the streets of the Egyptian port city of Alexandria to one of the wealthiest men in the world. His meteoric rise started after he married Samira Khashoggi–the sister of Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi.
Khashoggi employed Al-Fayed in his import business in Saudi Arabia which helped him build contacts that he used to start a shipping business. In 1966, he was named the adviser of one of the world’s wealthiest men at the time, the Sultan of Brunei.
Conflicting childhood stories
In a 1985 interview in The New York Times, Al-Fayed said that he came from the lineage of wealthy Egyptian cotton growers. The claim was disputed and it emerged that he was the son of an Egyptian schoolteacher. He had four siblings.
The tycoon claimed that he was born in 1933, but official documents indicated that he was born in 1929. Much is not known about his schooling, only that in 1954 he married Samira and has a son–Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Mena’em Fayed, Dodi.
The marriage only lasted two years and the tycoon got the custody of Dodi after the divorce. He relocated to Genoa, Italy in 1958 where he stayed for six years before moving to London. Two years later, he served as an adviser to the Sultan of Brunei and launched what would be a major break in his business empire.
Al-fayed founded a shipping company Genevaco at around the same time he was serving as Brunei ruler’s adviser. In 1972, he set up a ship repair company, International Marine Service, in Dubai.
In the two decades between 1960 and 1980, the billionaire moved a lot between the Middle East and Europe, laying a foundation for his business empire. The decade to 1980 is when he moved back to Britain and bought the Ritz Hotel in Paris.
The Ritz deal cost the billionaire $25.4 million and six years later he acquired Harrods for $781.4 million.
It is at the Ritz Hotel that his son Dodi and Diana left, with the paparazzi hot on their heels, before their unfortunate car crash in 1997. Multiple reports and accounts have suggested that the tycoon never recovered from the loss of his son.
Al-Fayed sold the Harrods in 2010 to Qatari wealth fund for $1.5 billion and reportedly used half of the proceeds to clear his company’s debts.
His business exploits also included acquiring a controlling stake in English Premier League (EPL) Fulham Football Club. Under his leadership, the club rose from the lower division to play in the prestigious EPL. He sold Fulham in 2013.
“We owe Mohamed a debt of gratitude for what he did for our club, and our thoughts now are with his family and friends at this sombre time,” the club said in a statement following his death last year.
Rabble-rouser
Al-Fayed was involved in several controversies, which were cited in his failed bids to become a British citizen. This was despite having expansive business interest in the country and decades as a resident. He was also a cheerful giver, taking part in numerous charity programmes, funding hospitals, and supporting underprivileged children.
He made unsuccessful bids to become a British citizen between 1995 and 1999. After the last bid, he told journalists “I’m here to stay. It’s okay, it’s no problem, I’m not desperate, I’m not leaving the country, I’m here forever — I’m staying.”
The billionaire insisted, until his death, that the death of his son and Diana was not an accident, something that set him against the British establishment and could have caused the rejection of his bid.
“I’m a father who lost his son and I have done everything for 10 years. But now with the verdict, I am accepting it but with all the reservations which I have mentioned,” he told Reuters.
“I’m leaving the rest for God to get my revenge, but I’m not doing anything anymore.”
He also once exposed two British politicians for receiving money and other gifts from him to table parliamentary questions on his behalf. The two ministers, Neil Hamilton and Tim Smith left the government as a result of the allegations.
He also revealed that another minister, Jonathan Aitken, stayed at his Ritz Hotel for free, at the same time with some Saudi arms dealers. This set him on a collision course with the British political establishment. Reasons for his citizenship rejection were never offered.
Al-Fayed: The cheerful giver
A brief review of Al Fayed’s donation history shows that the tycoon was a generous supporter of children’s charities. The Egyptian-born businessman donated millions from his fortune and set up the Al Fayed Charitable Foundation in 1987 to oversee his charitable contributions.
The foundation primarily supports children’s charities and hospices for disabled and neglected children in Britain, as well as orphanages in Thailand and Mongolia. Notable beneficiaries include Francis House Hospice in Manchester, Great Ormond Street Hospital, and ChildLine.
Others are Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, Cherished Memories, Kent – which organizes events for children with life-limiting illnesses, Chornobyl Children’s Life Line – which organizes recuperative UK breaks for children affected by the Chornobyl disaster, Childline, London – founded by Esther Rantzen to combat child abuse, Clowndoctors, Scotland – specialist performers trained to bring cheer to very ill children.
The fund also supports Demelza House, Kent – children’s hospice, Evelina Children’s Hospital, London – hospital caring for babies born prematurely or with serious medical conditions, Facing the World, London – provides surgery for children in the world’s poorest countries, The Kirsty Club, Manchester – Kirsty Howard’s appeal to raise funds for Francis House Children’s Hospice, Neonatal Appeal at Liverpool Women’s Hospital ICU and Lotus Children’s Center, Mongolia among several others.
In 1998, Al Fayed purchased Princess Diana’s former boarding school in Kent and helped establish the New School at West Heath for traumatized children. He reportedly met Diana through charitable initiatives.
