Mohamed Al-Fayed

In 1954 he married Samira Khashoggi, the sister of a very successful international businessman, Adnan Khashoggi. This marriage lasted for only two years though it resulted in the birth of a son.

He married Finnish socialite and former model Heini Wathén in 1985. The couple has four children.

He established the Al-Fayed Charitable Foundation in 1987 with the aim of helping sick and poor children. The foundation is involved with charities that work with disabled and neglected children in the UK, Thailand, and Mongolia.

He was born as Mohamed Abdel Moneim Fayed on 17 January 1929 in Alexandria, Egypt, as the eldest son of a primary school teacher. He has four younger siblings: two brothers and two sisters.

His interest in business was apparent from a young age. As a school boy he started selling home-made lemonade, and eventually tried his hand at some other jobs too.

His brother-in-law Adnan Khashoggi, an international businessman, employed him in his import-export business in Saudi Arabia in 1954. This gave the young Mohamed exposure to the global business scenario.

He collaborated with his brothers to form a shipping company in Egypt. After a few years he moved the company headquarters to Italy and set up additional offices in London.

During the 1960s he built good connections with prominent businessmen and powerful individuals from all over the world, including François Duvalier, the President of Haiti, and geologist George de Mohrenschildt.

He also met the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid al Makhtoum, who believed that Fayed could help in transforming Dubai and entrusted him with the responsibility. He became a financial adviser to the then Sultan of Brunei Omar Ali Saifuddien III, in 1966 and introduced British companies to the Emirates to carry out the required construction works for the country’s development.

He moved to Britain in 1974 and added the “al” to his name. Over the 1970s he focused on acquiring several profitable businesses, including the Ritz Hotel in Paris in 1979 for US $30 million. The hotel’s image was on a gradual decline when he purchased it. He restored it to its past glory within a few years and today it is considered one of "The Leading Hotels of the World"

He was awarded the "Freedom of the Highlands" in 2002 by The Highlands of Scotland tourist board, in recognition of his "outstanding contribution and commitment to the highlands."