The new episodes of the Netflix series “The Crown” are here – and not only cause a stir, but also arouse curiosity. One episode focuses on the first meeting of Diana (Elizabeth Debicki, 32) and Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed (Salim Daw, 72), with his son Dodi Al-Fayed (Khalid Abdalla, 41), with whom the Princess had a relationship after divorcing Charles (Dominic West, 53). Who is the billionaire, how did he get rich and what is he doing today?
Even Mohamed Al-Fayed’s year of birth is controversial, but he was probably born around the 1930s in Alexandria, the son of a primary school teacher. Before making a name for himself as a hotel and department store owner, he made his living as a Coca-Cola street vendor and sewing machine salesman.
Mohamed Al-Fayed only came to his first major fortune when he married the sister of arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, Samira Khashoggi. This gave him a management position in a Saudi Arabian import company. In 1955, Al-Fayed had his son Dodi (1955-1997) with Samira.
Over time, Mohamed Al-Fayed built his own empire and established contacts in the United Arab Emirates, Haiti and London. After founding a shipping company in Egypt, one of the richest men in the world took notice of him: the Sultan of Brunei, who appointed Al-Fayed as his financial advisor in the 1960s.
In the 1970s, Mohamed Al-Fayed finally moved to London, where he later bought, among other things, one of the most famous department stores – Harrods – and in his second marriage with a Finn in the 1980s founded a new family and fathered four more children. In the meantime he had already bought a luxury hotel in Paris and was a board member of a mining company.
The entrepreneur is said to have always aspired to become a member of the inner circle of the British upper class. Unsurprisingly, he and Diana are said to have first met at a Windsor polo match he sponsored in 1986. This is how it is portrayed in “The Crown”. Charles and Dodi played on opposite teams back then.
Dodi and Diana, on the other hand, are said to have first met on one of Mohamed Al-Fayed’s yachts. At the time, the businessman offered her and her children William and Harry shelter in his villa in southern France.
To this day, the entrepreneur has positive memories of his potential daughter-in-law. In 2017 he told the “Mirror” that his son Dodi was “a safe haven for her and her boys”. “Princess Diana trusted my son and he offered her a shoulder to lean on at a troubled time in her life.” Diana was a good mother and a wonderful person.
After Diana and Dodi were involved in a car accident in Paris in August 1997, Mohamed Al-Fayed launched one of the many conspiracy theories that are still being discussed today. At the time, he firmly believed that Diana and Dodi were victims of an assassination attempt in which he believed the royal family was also involved. At the time, rumors also circulated that Diana was pregnant by his son and that an engagement was planned. However, investigations showed that Dodi Al-Fayed had not bought an engagement ring and Diana was probably not expecting a proposal either. In addition, blood tests showed that Diana was not pregnant at the time of her death.
Al-Fayed lived in the UK from around 1974, but moved to Switzerland from Surrey in 2003. Among other things, disagreements with the British tax authorities are said to have been the reason for his move. Over the years there have been other scandal headlines, including allegations of sexual harassment and assault. In the meantime, he keeps himself away from the public as much as possible. In 2005, the now (probably) over 90-year-old entrepreneur moved to Monaco.
