Mohamed Al-Fayed facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mohamed Al-Fayed
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Al-Fayed in 2011
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| Born | 27 January 1929 |
| Died | 30 August 2023 (aged 94) London, England
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| Occupation | Businessman |
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| Children | 5, including Dodi and Omar |
Mohamed Al-Fayed (Arabic: محمد الفايد 27 January 1929 – 30 August 2023) was an Egyptian businessman. He lived and had most of his businesses in the United Kingdom starting in the mid-1960s.
He owned famous places like the Hôtel Ritz Paris and the Harrods department store in London. He also owned the Fulham Football Club. When he passed away in 2023, his wealth was about US$2 billion. This made him one of the richest people in the world.
Al-Fayed was married to Samira Khashoggi from 1953 to 1956. They had a son named Dodi. Dodi was in a relationship with Diana, Princess of Wales. They both died in a car crash in Paris in 1997. In 1985, Al-Fayed married Heini Wathén, a former model from Finland. They had four children: Jasmine, Karim, Camilla, and Omar.
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Early Life and Family
Mohamed Al-Fayed was born in the Roshdy area of Alexandria, Kingdom of Egypt. He was the oldest son of a primary school teacher from Asyut. There was some discussion about his birth year. His website first said 1933, but later changed it to 1929. His brothers, Ali and Salah, also worked with him in business.
He was married to Samira Khashoggi from 1954 to 1956.
In the early 1970s, he started using "Al-Fayed" instead of just "Fayed." His brothers also added "Al-" to their names for a while. Some people thought he added "Al-" to sound more important. This led to a magazine calling him the "Phoney Pharaoh."
Business Ventures in the UK
Starting His Businesses
Mohamed Al-Fayed and his brothers started a shipping company in Egypt. They later moved its main office to Genoa, Italy, and had offices in London.
Around 1964, Al-Fayed worked with the leader of Haiti, François Duvalier. He was interested in building an oil refinery there. However, the project did not work out as planned.
Al-Fayed then moved to England and lived in central London. In the mid-1960s, he met Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai. Sheikh Rashid asked him to help develop Dubai. Al-Fayed started IMS (International Marine Services) in 1968. He brought British construction companies to Dubai to help with building projects. He also became a financial advisor to the Sultan of Brunei in 1966.
In 1979, he bought The Ritz hotel in Paris, France. He paid about US$30 million for it.
Buying Harrods and Other Companies
In 1984, Al-Fayed and his brothers bought a large part of House of Fraser. This group included the famous London store Harrods. They bought it from Roland 'Tiny' Rowland, who was the head of Lonrho. In 1985, they bought the rest of House of Fraser for £615 million.
Rowland claimed that the Fayed brothers were not honest about their background and wealth. The British government started an investigation into the Fayeds. The report was critical, but no action was taken against them.
In 1994, House of Fraser became a public company. However, Al-Fayed kept Harrods as his private property.
Al-Fayed also brought back the funny magazine Punch in 1996. It stopped publishing again in 2002.
He tried to become a British citizen twice, in 1994 and 1999, but was not successful.
Cash-for-Questions Scandal
In 1994, Al-Fayed revealed that he had paid some Members of Parliament (MPs) to ask questions in Parliament for him. This became known as the "cash-for-questions affair." This led to some MPs leaving the government. A new committee was created to prevent such problems from happening again.
Al-Fayed also said that a government minister, Jonathan Aitken, stayed for free at the Ritz Hotel in Paris. This led to Aitken's legal troubles.
Selling Harrods
After saying for a long time that Harrods was not for sale, Al-Fayed sold it to Qatar Holdings in 2010. Qatar Holdings is a wealth fund from Qatar.
Harrods was sold for £1.5 billion. Al-Fayed later said he decided to sell it because it was difficult to get his profits approved by the Harrods pension fund.
Scottish Property and Beliefs
In 1972, Al-Fayed bought the Balnagown estate in Easter Ross, Scotland. He invested more than £20 million in the estate. He restored the old Balnagown Castle and created a tourist business. He received an award for his contributions to the Scottish Highlands.
Al-Fayed was very interested in the history of Scotland. He helped fund a reprint of a 15th-century book called Scotichronicon. This book tells a story that Scota, a sister of an Egyptian Pharaoh, came to Scotland. The book says Scotland was named after her. Modern historians do not agree with this story. Al-Fayed believed that "The Scots are originally Egyptians."
In 2009, Al-Fayed said he supported Scottish independence from the United Kingdom. He even offered to help Scotland become independent and said he was ready to be its president.
Charity Work
In 1987, Al-Fayed started the Al Fayed Charitable Foundation. Its goal was to help children with serious health problems and children living in poverty. The charity mostly works with groups that help disabled and neglected children in the UK, Thailand, and Mongolia.
Some of the charities it supports include Francis House Hospice and Great Ormond Street Hospital. In 1998, Al-Fayed bought Princess Diana's old school. He helped create the New School at West Heath for children with special needs.
In 2011, Al-Fayed's daughter, Camilla, opened a newly renovated children's hospice in Liverpool.
Fulham Football Club
Al-Fayed bought the football club Fulham F.C. in 1997 for £6.25 million. His goal was for Fulham to reach the Premier League within five years. In 2001, Fulham won the First Division. This meant Al-Fayed achieved his goal a year early. By 2002, Fulham was playing in European football competitions. They even reached the final of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League. Fulham stayed in the Premier League during Al-Fayed's time as owner, which ended in 2013.
Fulham temporarily left their home stadium, Craven Cottage, for upgrades. There were worries the club might not return.
In 2004, Fulham lost a legal case against their former manager, Jean Tigana. Al-Fayed had wrongly claimed Tigana had overpaid for players. In 2009, Al-Fayed said he supported limiting how much footballers could earn.
A statue of the American entertainer Michael Jackson was put up by Al-Fayed at Craven Cottage in April 2011. Jackson had visited the stadium in 1999. Some fans did not like the statue. Al-Fayed said that if fans did not appreciate it, they could "go to hell." The club's new owners took the statue down in 2013. Al-Fayed blamed the club's later relegation from the Premier League on the statue's removal. He then gave the statue to the National Football Museum. In 2019, the statue was removed from the museum due to new accusations against Jackson.
Under Al-Fayed, Fulham F.C. was owned by Mafco Holdings, a company based in Bermuda. By 2011, Al-Fayed had lent Fulham F.C. £187 million in interest-free loans. In July 2013, Al-Fayed sold the club to Shahid Khan, an American businessman.
Other Business Interests
Mohamed Al-Fayed's business interests included:
- Hôtel Ritz Paris
- Balnagowan Castle & Estates in the Scottish Highlands
- HJW Geospatial
- Turnbull & Asser (a clothing company)
- 75 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. This building was built in 1947.
Some of his major business purchases were:
- The Ritz Hotel in Paris in 1979 for about $30 million.
- House of Fraser Group, including Harrods, in 1985 for £615 million. He sold Harrods in 2010 for £1.5 billion.
- Fulham Football Club in 1997 for £30 million. He sold it in 2013.
- After the death of Wallis Simpson, Al-Fayed took over the lease of the Villa Windsor in Paris. This was the former home of the Duchess and Duke of Windsor. He helped restore the villa and its collections.
Death
Mohamed Al-Fayed passed away in London on 30 August 2023. He was 94 years old. He was buried on 1 September after prayers at the London Central Mosque.
Images for kids
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Al-Fayed in 2011
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Wax sculpture of Mohammed Al-Fayed, Madame Tussauds, London, July 2009
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75 Rockefeller Plaza, New York
See also
In Spanish: Mohamed Al-Fayed para niños
