Former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed dies at age 94

Businessman Mohamed Al Fayed died at the age of 94, the football club he once owned announced on Friday evening.

The Egyptian-born business giant made his name in the United Kingdom, where he was known as the former owner of the upscale London department store Harrods. He also owned the Fulham Football Club, which announced his passing.

"We owe Mohamed a debut of gratitude for what he did for our Club," Fulham wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

In a statement, his family said Al Fayed "enjoyed a long and fulfilled retirement surrounded by his loved ones."

He is survived by his wife, four children, and grandchildren. In November last year, Forbes magazine estimated his wealth at $1.9 billion.

Al Fayed's eldest son, Dodi Fayed, was in a romantic relationship with the late Princess Diana. The two died in a tragic car crash in 1997 in Paris. The event was a turning point for Al Fayed, who went on to spend years battling figures in the British establishment that he held responsible for their deaths.

Who was Mohamed Al Fayed?

The late billionaire was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1929, where one of his parents was a school teacher.

His business exploits began when he started working for Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi. Al Fayed eventually moved to England in the 1970s.

He married his first wife, Samira Khashoggi, in 1954. They had a son, Dodi, together before divorcing in 1956.

He purchased the Ritz Hotel in Paris with his brother and later purchased the iconic Harrods department store in London.

A British government inquiry into the purchase later found that Al Fayed and his brother had been dishonest about their wealth in order to land the takeover of Harrods.

The spat led to a back-and-forth between Al Fayed and British politicians that lasted for years.

He later sold Harrods in 2010 to the investment wing of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund for an estimated 1.5 billion pounds ($1.9 billion; €1.7 billion).

Over the years, numerous accusations of sexual harassment emerged against Al Fayed from his time as the owner of Harrods. Former employees of the store told several British news outlets that Al Fayed would target young, attractive female staff members.

What was his connection to Princess Diana?

While his business ventures brought him wealth — his very public battle with the British crown over his son's death brought him notoriety in the press.

Dodi Fayed had been dating Princess Diana following her divorce from her British royal husband, now King Charles III.

In August 1997, Dodi and Diana were traveling in a car driven by one of Al Fayed's employees. The car crashed in a Paris road tunnel while being tailed by paparazzi. All three died in the crash — with an inquest later concluding that it was caused by reckless driving and the pursuit of the paparazzi.

Al Fayed went on to accuse Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, of masterminding their deaths. Among other things, he claimed that Diana was pregnant and planned on marrying his son, but that the royal family did not like the idea of her marrying a Muslim man.

Following years of legal battles, he later dropped his conspiracy campaign.

rs/sms (AP, Reuters, AFP)