The family of Mohamed Al Fayed has paid tribute to the billionaire with a moving statement.
Former Harrods owner Mohamed, 94, was confirmed dead late on Friday evening.
Now, Fulham FC, the football team he previously owned, have issued a statement dedicated to the businessman.
Mohamed Al Fayed: Cause of death confirmed
The statement reads: “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 fulfilled retirement surrounded by his loved ones. The family have asked for their privacy to be respected at this time.”
Born in Egypt, Mohamed built a business empire before moving to the UK in the 1970s.
He bought the Ritz Hotel in Paris in 1979 before taking over Harrods in 1985 for £615m.
Mohamed was a generous philanthropist, using his vast sums of wealth to give generously to charities. He regularly contributed towards Great Ormond Street hospital.
He enjoyed a long and fulfilled retirement surrounded by his loved ones.
He also set up the Al Fayed Charitable Foundation in 1987 to better the lives of impoverished, traumatised and very sick youngsters.
When did Dodi Fayed start dating Princess Diana?
Mohamed’s charity work is what led him to meeting Princess Diana. In July 1997, his film producer son, Dodi Fayed, started dating her.
After Dodi and Diana’s deaths in August the same year, Mohamed claimed the pair were unlawfully killed by the British authorities.
It was a belief he held until the well-publicised inquest into their deaths rejected his claim throughout 2007 and 2008.
Many believe Mohamed never recovered from the shock of the crash. Taking to Twitter to pay his own tribute, journalist Piers Morgan wrote: “[He was] an extraordinary tour de force of a man who never got over the death of his beloved son Dodi in the crash that also killed Diana. Mohamed wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. He was a flawed, complex character, but I liked him.”
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