Businessman Mohammed Al-Fayed, former owner of the London department store Harrods and the Paris Ritz hotel, died in Great Britain. A 94-year-old native of Egypt died on August 30, the family reported this on the evening of September 1.
Al-Fayed’s son Doda Al-Fayed died in a car accident in Paris on August 31, 1997 along with Princess Diana. Mohammed Al-Fayed did not agree with the official version that the accident was the fault of the driver and the reporters who were chasing the couple. He believed that his son and Lady Diana were victims of a conspiracy, and conducted his own investigation, but after the verdict of the High Court of London in 2008, which supported the official version, he declared that he was stopping it. In recent years, he practically did not appear in public and lived in his mansion in Surrey.
Al-Fayed moved to Great Britain in the 1970s, already a successful businessman. The BBC notes that he never received British citizenship; the refusal of citizenship in 1995 led to a political scandal and the resignation of a number of cabinet ministers – Al-Fayed said that he paid them for lobbying his interests. He bought the famous Paris hotel Ritz in 1979 and remained its owner until his death. It was from this hotel that his son and Princess Diana went on their fateful trip in 1997.
Al-Fayed was also the owner of the London department store Harrods, which is often visited by celebrities and billionaires. It was subsequently acquired by the sovereign fund of Qatar. In the 1990s, Al-Fayed also became the owner of the Fulham football club, which he later also sold. He also engaged in charity work.