Mohamed Al Fayed: Former Harrods and Fulham FC proprietor has died on the age of 94

Mohamed Al Fayed has died on the age of 94.

His household say he “passed away peacefully of old age” on Wednesday.

Sky News understands Al Fayed was buried after Friday prayers at London Central Mosque in Regent’s Park.

The Egyptian-born businessman was finest often called a former proprietor of the Harrods division retailer and Fulham soccer membership in London.

Al Fayed’s son, the movie producer Dodi Fayed, and Princess Diana died on 31 August 1997 when their automobile crashed in a highway tunnel in Paris as they tried to outrun paparazzi photographers on motorbikes.

The information of Al Fayed’s passing comes simply in the future after the twenty sixth anniversary of his son’s dying.

He fought a protracted marketing campaign after their deaths, alleging the crash was not an accident and that it had been orchestrated by the British safety providers.

However, French police concluded it was an accident, precipitated partly by dashing and by the excessive alcohol stage in driver Henri Paul’s blood. A British police investigation concurred.

Al Fayed offered Harrods to Qatar Holdings in May 2010.

Three years later, he additionally offered Fulham FC, to the US businessman Shahid Khan.

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His household mentioned in a press release: “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 30 August, 2023.

“He loved a protracted and fulfilled retirement surrounded by his family members. The household have requested for his or her privateness to be revered presently.”

Fulham FC paid tribute to the businessman on Friday.

His successor as owner, Mr Khan, said: “On behalf of everybody at Fulham Football Club, I ship my honest condolences to the household and buddies of Mohamed Al Fayed upon the information of his passing at age 94.

“The story of Fulham cannot be told without a chapter on the positive impact of Al Fayed as Chairman.

“His legacy will probably be remembered for our promotion to the Premier League, a Europa League Final, and moments of magic by gamers and groups alike.

“I always enjoyed my time with Al Fayed, who was wise, colourful and committed to Fulham, and I am forever grateful for his trust in me to succeed him as Chairman in 2013.

“I be part of our supporters world wide in celebrating the reminiscence of Mohamed Al Fayed, whose legacy will all the time be on the coronary heart of our custom at Fulham Football Club.”

Born in Alexandria in 1929, Al Fayed started his profession promoting fizzy drinks after which labored as a stitching machine salesman.

He constructed his household’s fortune in actual property, delivery and building, first within the Middle East after which in Europe.

After shifting to London within the Sixties, Al Fayed quickly turned a good friend of royals and excessive society and bought high-profile companies such because the Ritz Hotel in Paris in 1979 and Harrods in 1985.

He later purchased Fulham in 1997 for £6.25m.

The Sunday Times Rich List from 2021 reported Al Fayed and his household have been price round £1.7bn.

He turned a good friend of Princess Diana by way of his sponsorship of charities and occasions attended by Royal relations.

He invited the princess, together with Prince Harry and Prince William, to vacation on the Al Fayed yacht in the summertime of 1997.

The billionaire’s relationship with the Royal Family was not too long ago depicted in season 5 of The Crown, the place Al Fayed, performed by Salim Daw, was seen attending to know Diana.

But the businessman was frequently shrouded in controversy.

He fell out with the British authorities over its refusal to grant him citizenship of the nation that was his dwelling for many years and sometimes threatened to maneuver to France, which gave him the Legion of Honour, its highest civilian award.

Al Fayed spent 10 years attempting to show Diana and his son Dodi have been murdered within the 1997 automobile crash.

Unsupported by any proof, in keeping with the inquest into Diana’s dying, he claimed that she was bearing Dodi’s little one and accused Prince Philip, the Queen’s husband, of ordering Britain’s safety providers to kill her to cease her from marrying a Muslim and having his child.

His takeover of Harrods sparked certainly one of Britain’s most bitter enterprise feuds, whereas in 1994 he precipitated a scandal with the disclosure that he had paid politicians to ask questions on his behalf in parliament.

At Fulham, he erected a larger-than-life, sequined statue of Michael Jackson exterior the bottom despite the fact that the singer solely attended one match.

When folks complained, he mentioned: “If some stupid fans don’t understand or appreciate such a gift, they can go to hell.”

He additionally put in a bronze memorial statue of Diana and Dodi dancing beneath the wings of an albatross at Harrods.

Even his identify and date of start have been contentious.

He maintained he was born in 1933 however a British authorities inquiry into the Harrods takeover mentioned 1929.

He additionally added the al to his identify when he moved to the UK, main the satirical journal Private Eye to nickname him the “Phoney Pharaoh”.