Biografi
He was raised in poverty and started working as a street vendor and salesman in his hometown at a young age. His connection with businessman Adnan Khashoggi helped him secure his first permanent job at Khashoggi's import company in Saudi Arabia. In 1954, he married Samira Kashoggi but divorced her four years later. In 1966, he was hired as an advisor by the Sultan of Brunei, one of the wealthiest men in the world, which brought him significant wealth. During the early 1970s, he relocated to Great Britain and briefly joined the management of the mining group Lonrho in 1975. However, disagreements with management led to his departure and a prolonged conflict with Lonrho’s leader, Tiny Rowland. In 1979, he and his brother Ali purchased the Ritz Hotel in Paris.
In 1985, he acquired the British company Harrods, a famous London department store, entering into competition with Lonrho, which was also interested in buying it. Rowland initiated a campaign against him, resulting in an investigation that produced unfavorable findings in 1990. A public meeting in 1993 between the two rivals suggested the dispute was ending, but new conflicts soon arose. The long-standing feud was only resolved after Rowland's death, with an agreement involving Rowland's widow. Despite multiple attempts, he has not succeeded in obtaining British citizenship. His significant financial contributions to social and charitable causes failed to influence the authorities, and his second marriage to a British woman, along with having four children who hold British citizenship, did not change the outcome.
Meanwhile, rumors about his alleged bribery and corruption attempts targeting British politicians persisted, causing several ministers to lose their positions. He also purchased the satirical magazine Punch to revive it and acquired the football club Fulham FC in 1997. The relationship between his eldest son, Dodi Al Fayed, from his first marriage, and Diana, Princess of Wales, which became public in 1997, renewed his hopes of gaining British citizenship. However, the couple’s tragic accidental death that same year, apparently caused by his driver under the influence, dashed those hopes. Subsequently, he claimed the accident was part of a conspiracy by the Duke of Edinburgh against Diana and Dodi, leading to a defamation lawsuit from the Duke.
Although denied British citizenship, he received several honors: he is an honorary member of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, has been an officer of the Légion d'honneur since 1993, was awarded the Grand Medal of the City of Paris in 1985, and received Italy’s Order of Merit in 1990. In 2003, he moved his residence from Surrey to Switzerland, and in 2004, Harrods celebrated its 155th anniversary. In 2005, he relocated to Monaco.
Since 1985, Mohammed Al Fayed has been married to Heini Wathen, with whom he has four children.
