Former Harrods and Fulham FC proprietor Mohamed Al-Fayed dies aged 94
F
ormer Harrods and Fulham FC proprietor Mohammed Al-Fayed has died aged 94.
The Egyptian-born businessman’s household stated he “passed away peacefully of old age”, in an announcement launched by Fulham on Friday.
Mr Al-Fayed, whose son Dodi died in a automobile crash alongside Diana, Princess of Wales, in Paris in 1997, was the proprietor and chairman of Fulham between 1997 and 2013 when he bought it to present proprietor Shahid Khan.
In an announcement issued by the membership, his household stated: “Mrs Mohamed Al-Fayed, her children and grandchildren wish to confirm that her beloved husband, their father and their grandfather, Mohamed, has passed away peacefully of old age on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.
“He enjoyed a long and fulfilled retirement surrounded by his loved ones. The family have asked for their privacy to be respected at this time.”
Fulham FC paid tribute to Mr Al-Fayed, who turned the membership from a third-tier outfit to a longtime Barclays Premier League facet throughout 16 years at its helm.
The late Queen Elizabeth II accompanied by the then-owner of Harrods, Mohamed Al-Fayed, on the Royal Windsor Horse Show in 1997
/ PA“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,” wrote the membership on Twitter.
Mr Al-Fayed was born in Alexandria, Egypt, the son of a college inspector.
He got here to London within the Sixties and set about constructing a enterprise empire.
Once within the capital, the flamboyant and extrovert character was hardly ever out of the newspapers.
In the Eighties, he hit the headlines as he battled for management of the House of Fraser group, together with its flagship retailer Harrods, with rival tycoon “Tiny” Rowland.
Mr Al-Fayed and his brother purchased a 30 per cent stake in House Of Fraser from Mr Rowland in 1984, and took management of Harrods for £615 million the next yr.
Mr Rowland’s London and Rhodesian Mining Company (Lonrho) had tried to purchase Harrods however was overwhelmed to it by the Egyptian household.
Mohammed Al-Fayed stands in entrance of the east stand of Craven Cottage, residence of Fulham FC, in 1997
/ REUTERSMr Rowland later accused Mr Al-Fayed of breaking into his security deposit field on the division retailer.
Mr Al-Fayed was arrested in March 1998 together with Harrods safety director John Macnamara and 4 different retailer workers, however was by no means charged.
Mr Al-Fayed bought world-famous division retailer for a reported £1.5 billion in 2010 to Qatar Holding, the funding arm of the Qatar Investment Authority, which trades on behalf of the state.
Mr Al-Fayed later expanded his enterprise pursuits to incorporate the Ritz lodge in Paris in 1979, and Fulham Football Club.
As properly because the worlds of enterprise and royalty, he grew to become embroiled in politics in 1994 when he was on the centre of the “cash-for-questions” scandal that rocked Westminster.
Mr Al-Fayed claimed by way of the Guardian he had paid then Tory MPs Neil Hamilton and Tim Smith 1000’s of kilos to illegally desk questions within the Commons on his behalf.
Mr Smith apologised and stepped down on the 1997 election however Mr Hamilton sued Mr Al-Fayed for libel, touchdown himself a seven-figure authorized invoice and eventual chapter after shedding to the businessman.
Mr Hamilton, who was later closely criticised in a Commons report into the affair, was voted out on the 1997 election and is now the chief of Ukip.
Mr Al-Fayed’s time because the Cottagers’ chairman was suitably tumultuous.
Fulham had been languishing in Division Two when he took over in 1997 however spending on gamers and high-profile managers together with Kevin Keegan and Roy Hodgson noticed them rise to the top-half of the Premier League within the early Noughties, peaking in qualification for the Europa League.
Off the pitch, followers had been handled to some weird spectacles, together with a 1999 go to from Mr Al-Fayed’s buddy Michael Jackson.
The Harrods boss and the membership confronted some ridicule when, in 2011, two years after Jackson’s dying, a statue of the King Of Pop was erected at its Craven Cottage floor.
Fulham supporters had been fast to share their grief at Mr Al-Fayed’s dying on Friday evening.
“We owe him everything,” wrote one fan. “RIP Legend.”
Mr Al-Fayed was named because the fourth richest particular person in Scotland on the Sunday Times Rich List 2023 with a fortune of £1.69 billion.
He was married twice, and had 5 kids.