Mohamed Al-Fayed, the renowned Egyptian billionaire who once held ownership of Harrods department store and Fulham football club, and was also known as the father of Dodi Fayed, tragically died on Friday, September 1 in London at the age of 94.
Following his passing, a solemn burial took place after Friday prayers, accompanied by a service at Regent’s Park Mosque in London, as reported by Al Jazeera Egypt. A poignant message from a family member, Ashraf Haider, was shared in Al Shorouk newspaper, stating, "My wife's grandfather, the Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed, has passed away. We belong to God, and to Him, we shall return."
Born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1929, Mohamed Al-Fayed relocated to the United Kingdom during the mid-1960s, where he amassed his considerable wealth through various business endeavors. His marriage to Samira Khashoggi in 1954 resulted in the birth of their son, Emad, known as Dodi. Unfortunately, their marriage ended in divorce in 1956.
Among his notable acquisitions, Al-Fayed is most prominently associated with his ownership of Harrods, a venture he undertook in 1985 and later sold to Qatar in 2010 for a substantial $2.4 billion. Additionally, he held ownership of the esteemed Ritz Paris Hotel and Fulham Football Club. In 2013, Al Fayed concluded the sale of Fulham Football Club to US auto parts billionaire Shahid Khan for a reported sum of $300 million.
Mohamed Al-Fayed was also recognized for his outspoken criticism of the British royal family, harboring beliefs that they were implicated in the demise of his son Dodi and Princess Diana in the fateful car crash of 1997. He asserted that the couple met with foul play due to the royal family's reluctance to accept his son, an Egyptian and a Muslim, as the potential stepfather of the future king, as articulated during a candid interview on 60 Minutes Australia.
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