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Egyptian billionaireFormer Harrods owner Mohamed al-Fayed has died
His son Dodi died at Princess Diana’s side: Mohamed al-Fayed, the former owner of Harrods and football club Fulham FC, has died at the age of 94.
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Luxury hotel, Nobel department store, football club: The businessman Mohamed al-Fayed has died. (archive image)
AFP/Shaun Curry
Al-Fayed led Fulham FC, then third tier, to the Premier League in four years.
AFP/Ian Kington
Al-Fayed died on the eve of the anniversary of the death of his son Dodi, who died in a car accident with Princess Diana in 1997.
AFP/Chris Ratcliffe
That’s what it’s about
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He never got over the death of his son Dodi at Princess Diana’s side: Egyptian businessman Mohamed al-Fayed died at the age of 94.
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In 1997 he bought the Ritz luxury hotel in Paris and the British football club Fulham.
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Six years later he took over the London luxury department store Harrods.
Egyptian billionaire Mohamed al-Fayed has died at the age of 94. The father of Dodi al-Fayed, who died in a car crash alongside Princess Diana in 1997, died “of old age” on August 30, his family said in a statement released by Fulham Football Club on Friday. Al-Fayed had therefore “enjoyed a long and fulfilling old age with his loved ones”.
Fulham Football Club said his family had asked for their privacy to be respected. In 1997, al-Fayed took over what was then the third division club and within four years led it to the Premier League.
Successful business man
Al-Fayed was a successful businessman. In 1997 he and his brother bought the Ritz luxury hotel in Paris, and six years later they took over the luxury London department store Harrods. Al-Fayed’s business empire spanned shipping, real estate, banking and construction – his foundation supported children in several countries.
Mohamed al-Fayed died on the eve of the anniversary of the death of his son Dodi, who died in a car accident with Princess Diana on August 31, 1997. Al-Fayed had expressed conspiracy theories in this context and accused the British royal family of having commissioned the fatal car accident.
Al-Fayed was born on January 27, 1929 in a suburb of Alexandria, Egypt, the son of a teacher. He began his professional career as a lemonade salesman. His encounter with the Saudi Arabian arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi changed his life: Al-Fayed married his sister Samira – the marriage produced a son, Dodi.
Al-Fayed spent most of his life in Britain, but was denied British citizenship on several occasions.
(AFP/chk)
