Home > Mohamed Al-Fayed
Mohamed Al-Fayed (b. January 27, c. 1929) is an Egyptian-born, Swiss-based millionaire. He owns the Harrods department store in Knightsbridge, London, the English Premiership football team, Fulham Football Club along with other business interests. He relaunched Punch magazine in 1996, only to see it fail and close again in 2002. Born in Bakos باكوس, a poor neighborhood in eastern Alexandria, he worked initially as a teacher. Later he made his money working for Adnan Khashoggi. He established his own shipping company in Egypt. He arrived in Britain in 1974, adding the honourific al- to his name (earning the Private Eye nickname "the Phoney Pharaoh") and briefly joining the board of Lonrho . In 1979Events January-February January 1 Sino-American relations: United States and the People's Republic of China establish diplomatic relations January 4 State of Ohio agrees to pay $675,000 to families of dead and injured in Kent State University shootings. al-Fayed bought the Ritz Hotel Paris and in 19851985 is a common year starting on Tuesday. Events January events January 1 Creation of the Internet's Domain Name System. January 17 British Telecom annouces they are going to abolish the famous red telephone boxes. January 23 A debate in the House of Lor he and his brother bought Harrods for £615m. The Harrods deal was made under the nose of Tiny Rowland , the head of Lonrho, who took the Al-Fayeds to a Department of Trade inquiry. The inquiry, reporting in 1990Events January January 3 Former leader of Panama Manuel Noriega surrenders to American forces. January 7 The Leaning Tower of Pisa is closed to the public due to safety concerns. January 9 Lt Gen Bazilio Olara Okello The man who led the coup aginst Dr Apo, stated that the brothers had lied about their background and wealth. The bickering with Rowland continued when he accused them of stealing millions in jewels from his Harrods safe deposit box. Rowland died but al-Fayed settled the dispute with a payment to his widow. Al-Fayed had been arrested during the dispute and sued the Metropolitan Police for false arrest in 2002. He lost the case.
For years he has requested a UK passport, to no avail—the government has repeatedly rejected his claims and he has taken them to court. He has given millions to charities such as Great Ormond Street HospitalThe Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children was founded in London in 1852 as the first hospital specifically for children in the English-speaking world. Now an NHS Trust, it is still world-renowned for its pioneering work in children's medicine..
He was involved in the cash for questions scandal, having offered the ConservativeThe Conservative Party is the largest centre right political party in the United Kingdom. It is descended from the Tory Party and its members are still commonly referred to as Tories''. It votes with the European People's Party bloc in the European Parlia MPs Neil HamiltonThis page is about Neil Hamilton, former MP and media personality. See also: Neil Hamilton (lawyer) Neil Hamilton (actor) Mostyn Neil Hamilton (born 1949) is a former Conservative MP in the United Kingdom. Since his fall from grace and subsequent bankrupt and Tim Smith money for asking questions in Parliament. He provided MP Jonathan Aitken's bill from the Ritz Hotel in Paris to Peter Preston at The Guardian, thus destroying Aitken's libel case against the newspaper and resulting in a perjury conviction for Aitken. He has a long running feud with Private Eye magazine, which, dubbing him the "Phoney Pharaoh", has often reported his alleged business malpractices and heavy-handed methods of dealing with staff at Harrods and in his other business ventures.
Al-Fayed's son, Dodi was dating Diana, Princess of Wales in her last days, and was killed in the same car crash in Paris in 1997. He has since made repeated allegations that the deaths were not accidental, but rather the result of a wide-ranging conspiracy involving the Duke of Edinburgh, MI5 and others.
In 2003, Al-Fayed moved from the UK to Switzerland, alleging a breach of an agreement with Her Majesty's Inland Revenue Commissioners.
