Former Harrods department store owner Mohamed Al Fayed has died at 94, his family says.
“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,″ Al Fayed’s family said in a statement that the Fulham Football Club released, according to The Associated Press. Al Fayed once owned the Fulham Football Club.
It’s not clear where Al Fayed died, according to The New York Times.
Al Fayed was a self-made Egyptian businessman, according to the AP. He built a business empire in the Middle East before he moved to the United Kingdom in the 1970s, the BBC reported.
He sold his department store, Harrods, in 2010 to a sovereign wealth fund in Qatar, the BBC reported. Almost half of the purchase price was used to clear up debts Harrods had.
This year, Forbes estimated Al Fayed’s worth at $2 billion and ranked his wealth at 1,516th in the world, according to the Times.
Al Fayed’s son, Dodi Fayed, was killed in a car crash with Princess Diana 26 years ago, the AP reported. He was devastated by his son’s death and spent the rest of his life mourning. He also spent a significant amount of time speculating the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Dodi and Diana, the BBC reported.
The car crash reportedly happened as Dodi and Diana departed from his Ritz hotel in Paris, according to the BBC.
Al Fayed was convinced that Dodi and Diana were killed in a conspiracy involving Queen Elizabeth II’s husband Prince Philip, the AP reported. He believed the royal family was behind the accident because “they did not like Diana dating an Egyptian.”
He also claimed that Diana was pregnant and planned to marry Dodi, the AP said. He submitted an inquest in 2008 of alleged conspirators which included Philip, then-Prince Charles, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, Diana’s sister Sarah McCorquodale, two former London police chiefs and the CIA. The inquest ultimately found that the deaths of Diana and Dodi were due to the reckless actions of the pair’s driver and the paparazzi that were chasing them.
