Mohamed Al Fayed, the former owner of the iconic Harrods department store in London and father of Dodi Fayed, who tragically died in a car crash with Princess Diana, has passed away at the age of 94. Al Fayed, a self-made Egyptian businessman who also had ownership of the Fulham Football Club, spent the remainder of his life grieving the loss of his son and battling against the British establishment which he believed to be responsible for their deaths. The Associated Press reports that his family released a statement, saying, “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 fulfilling retirement surrounded by his loved ones.”
Al Fayed firmly believed that the car crash that took the lives of Dodi and Princess Diana was a conspiracy orchestrated by Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. He asserted that the royal family arranged the accident as they disapproved of Diana’s relationship with an Egyptian. According to Al Fayed, Diana was pregnant with Dodi’s child and they had plans to marry, which the royal family could not accept due to their prejudice against Muslims. During the inquest in 2008, Al Fayed implicated several alleged conspirators including Prince Philip, Prince Charles, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, Diana’s sister Sarah McCorquodale, two former London police chiefs, and even the CIA. However, the inquest concluded that the fatal accident occurred due to the reckless actions of their driver and the paparazzi pursuing them.
Born on January 27, 1929, in Alexandria, Egypt, Al Fayed was the son of a school inspector and began his business ventures in the shipping industry. He relocated to Britain in the 1960s with the aim of building his own empire. Al Fayed gained notoriety in the 1980s when he engaged in a high-profile battle with “Tiny” Rowland, another tycoon, for control of the House of Fraser group, which included Harrods. In 1984, Al Fayed and his brother purchased a 30% stake in House of Fraser from Rowland and subsequently acquired Harrods in 1985 for £615 million. However, this transaction put him in conflict with British authorities. The Department of Trade and Industry conducted an investigation into the purchase and found that the brothers had misrepresented their origins, wealth, business interests, and resources.
Al Fayed was also involved in the “cash for questions” scandal that shook British politics in the 1990s. He faced a libel lawsuit from British lawmaker Neil Hamilton after alleging that he had given Hamilton envelopes of cash and a luxurious stay at the Ritz in Paris in exchange for posing questions in the House of Commons. During the trial, Hamilton’s lawyer, Desmond Browne, dismissed Al Fayed’s claims as fantasies, stating, “If there were Olympic medals for lying, Mr. Fayed would be a prime contender for a gold one.” However, the jury ruled in favor of Al Fayed in December 1999. Despite applying for British citizenship, his application was rejected in 1995 and 1998. According to the Sunday Times Rich List, the family’s wealth amounted to $2.1 billion, making Al Fayed the 104th richest person in Britain this year.
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