Editing Mohamed Al-Fayed (section)

==Rowland and later business career==
Fayed briefly joined the board of the mining conglomerate [[Lonrho]] in 1975 but left after a disagreement.<ref>{{cite news |title=History of Harrods department store |work=BBC News |date=8 May 2010 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/10103783 |access-date=3 September 2023 |archive-date=7 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307162401/http://www.bbc.com/news/10103783 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1979 he bought [[Hôtel Ritz Paris|the Ritz]] hotel in Paris, France, for US$30&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Paris Ritz|first=Mark|last=Boxer|publisher=Thames and Hudson|date=1991|isbn=978-0-500-01427-1}}</ref> In 1984 Fayed and his brothers purchased a 30% stake in [[House of Fraser]], a group that included the London store of [[Harrods]], from Tiny Rowland. In 1985, he and his brothers bought the remaining 70% of House of Fraser for £615 million. Rowland claimed that the Fayed brothers lied about their background and wealth, and he put pressure on the government to investigate them. A DTI inquiry into the Fayeds was launched. The DTI's subsequent report was critical, but no action was taken against the Fayeds, and while many believed the contents of the report, others felt it was politically motivated.<ref>{{cite news |first=Lisa |last=Buckingham |date=5 June 1997 |title=Finance: DTI inquiries under attack |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> Rowland described his relationship with the Fayed family in his book ''A Hero from Zero''.<ref>{{cite book| title =  A Hero from Zero| year = 1998 | author = R. W. Rowland | publisher = Greenaway Harrison, London}}</ref> 
[[File:Tony Curtis & Mohamed Al-Fayed - The Courier-News (1989).jpg|thumb|upright|Al-Fayed with [[Tony Curtis]], 4 January 1989]]

In 1998 Rowland, who died that year, accused Fayed of stealing papers and jewels from his Harrods [[safe deposit box]]. Fayed was arrested, along with the director of Harrods security, John MacNamara, and four other employees, but the charges were dropped.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/136111.stm |title=Harrods Box Charges Dropped |work=[[BBC News]] |date=20 July 1998 |access-date=13 November 2022 |archive-date=5 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231105231857/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/136111.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Sensitive documents were stolen, along with jewellery, rare stamps and a gold cigarette case, among other items.<ref name="fayeds-court-bill">{{Cite news |date=5 November 1998|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/208610.stm|title=Al-Fayed's £2 million court bill|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> Fayed settled the dispute with a payment to Rowland's widow; he also sued the [[Metropolitan Police]] for false arrest in 2002, but lost the case.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/aug/14/jamiewilson |title=Fayed loses High Court Action Against Met |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=13 August 2002 |first=Jamie |last=Wilson |access-date=12 December 2016 |archive-date=12 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512020457/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/aug/14/jamiewilson |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1994 House of Fraser went public, but Fayed retained ownership of Harrods.<ref>{{cite web |title=About |url=https://www.housefraserarchive.ac.uk/about/ |website=The House of Fraser Archive |access-date=3 September 2023 |archive-date=3 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230903143549/https://www.housefraserarchive.ac.uk/about/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He unsuccessfully applied for [[British citizenship]] twice, in 1994 and 1999.<ref name="Al Fayed Story">{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/55867.stm |title=Al Fayed: A Unique Story of Rags to Riches |work=[[BBC News]] |date=12 February 1998 |access-date=13 November 2022 |archive-date=5 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231105231946/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/55867.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/law-report-minister-acted-unfairly-towards-the-fayeds-1353132.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220515/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/law-report-minister-acted-unfairly-towards-the-fayeds-1353132.html |archive-date=15 May 2022 |url-access=registration |url-status=live |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |title=Law Report: Minister acted unfairly towards the Fayeds |date=19 November 1996}}</ref> It has been suggested that his feud with Rowland contributed to the first refusal.<ref name="BBC20080407" /><ref name="fayed-fumes">{{Cite news |last1=Burrell |first1=Ian |last2=Buncombe |first2=Andrew |date=7 June 1999 |title=Fayed fumes over passport decision |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/fayed-fumes-over-passport-decision-1091870.html |work=The Independent |location=London}}</ref>

In 1996 Al-Fayed bought the rights to the historic British humorous magazine ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'', and it was relaunched later that year, at a cost of £3 million, under new editor Peter McKay.<ref name="loss-making">{{Cite news|last=Peachey|first =Paul|title=Loss-making 'Punch' magazine closes for the second time|magazine=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/lossmaking-punch-magazine-closes-for-the-second-time-190563.html|location=London|date=30 May 2002}}</ref><ref name="mle">John Morrish, Paul Bradshaw, ''Magazine Editing: In Print and Online''. Routledge, 2012. {{ISBN|1136642072}} (p. ƒƒ32).</ref> ''Punch'' had previously been published from 1841 to 1992. The relaunch was not successful, with ''Punch'' failing to match its satirical competitor, ''[[Private Eye]]''. ''Punch'' folded for a second time in 2002.<ref name="punch-fold">{{cite news|title=Punch magazine to fold|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2015639.stm|author=BBC News Online | date=30 May 2002}}</ref>

In January 1997 Al-Fayed established a new political organisation, The People's Trust, to promote a crusade against a "culture of violence". The establishment of The People's Trust followed Al-Fayed's support for anti-abortion candidates and the Christian Democrat, the newspaper of the Movement for Christian Democracy.<ref name="fayed-funds">{{Cite news |date=13 January 1997 |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/fayed-funds-new-political-crusade-1282994.html|title=Fayed funds new political crusade|work=The Independent|location=London|first=John|last=Rentoul}}</ref> The People's Trust planned to write to all candidates in the [[1997 United Kingdom general election]] in order to identify a group of MPs who put "their consciences, their constituents and their country at the heart of their politics, rather than their party" <ref name="fayed-funds"/> The People's Trust was dissolved in September 1998 after failing to file its accounts.<ref name="trust-dissolved">{{Cite news |date=21 September 1998 |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/fayeds-cleanup-trust-is-dissolved-1199636.html|title=Fayed's clean-up trust is dissolved|work=The Independent|location=London|first=Fran|last=Abrams}}</ref>

After ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' published [[Maureen Orth]]'s article "[[Holy War at Harrods]]",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://maureenorth.com/1995/09/holy-war-at-harrods-mohamed-al-fayed/|title=Holy War at Harrods: Mohamed Al Fayed – Maureen Orth|accessdate=27 September 2024}}</ref> Al-Fayed sued the American magazine for libel in September 1995 but withdrew his suit in 1997. Al-Fayed invited [[Tom Bower]] to write his biography in 1996. Bower's biography, ''[[Fayed: The Unauthorized Biography]]'' was published in 1998. Al-Fayed announced his intention to sue, but withdrew his suit. Orth and Bower were both attempted victims of entrapment by Al-Fayed, with Al-Fayed's staff offering allegedly stolen documents to the writers.<ref>Bower 1998, p.xii.</ref>

===Cash-for-questions===
In 1994, in what became known as the [[cash-for-questions affair]], Fayed revealed the names of MPs he had paid to ask questions in [[Houses of Parliament|Parliament]] on his behalf, but who had failed to declare their fees. It saw [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] MPs [[Neil Hamilton (politician)|Neil Hamilton]] and [[Tim Smith (UK politician)|Tim Smith]] leave the government in disgrace, and a [[Committee on Standards in Public Life]] established to prevent such corruption occurring again. Fayed also revealed that cabinet minister [[Jonathan Aitken]] stayed for free at the Ritz Hotel in Paris at the same time as a group of Saudi arms dealers, leading to Aitken's unsuccessful libel case and later imprisonment for [[perjury]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/196466.stm|title=UK Politics: Talking Politics, Neil Hamilton – A chronology|work=[[BBC News]]|date=19 October 1998|access-date=13 November 2022|archive-date=3 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240403043705/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/196466.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> During this period, Al-Fayed's spokesman was [[Michael Cole (public relations)|Michael Cole]], a former [[BBC]] journalist.<ref>{{cite news |first=Steve |last=Boggan |date=21 February 1998 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/conspiracies-abound-as-cole-quits-toughest-job-in-pr-1145917.html |title=Conspiracies abound as Cole quits 'toughest job in PR' |work=[[The Independent]] |url-access=registration |access-date=5 September 2017 |archive-date=4 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404021109/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/conspiracies-abound-as-cole-quits-toughest-job-in-pr-1145917.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Hamilton lost a libel action against Al-Fayed in December 1999<ref>{{cite news |first1=Matt |last1=Wells |first2=Jamie |last2=Wilson |first3=David |last3=Pallister |date=22 December 1999 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/dec/22/hamiltonvalfayed.conservatives |title=A greedy, corrupt liar |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=12 December 2016 |archive-date=11 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211081833/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/dec/22/hamiltonvalfayed.conservatives |url-status=live }}</ref> and an appeal against the verdict in December 2000.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/dec/21/hamiltonvalfayed |title=Neil Hamilton loses libel appeal |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 December 2000 |access-date=12 December 2016 |archive-date=10 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510191751/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/dec/21/hamiltonvalfayed |url-status=live }}</ref> The former MP has always denied that he was paid by Al-Fayed for asking questions in Parliament. Hamilton's libel action related to a [[Channel 4]] ''[[Dispatches (TV series)|Dispatches]]'' documentary broadcast on 16 January 1997<ref>[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmselect/cmstnprv/030ii/sp0157.htm "Appendix 33 – continued: Appendix 1 Channel 4 and Fourth Estate Press Releases"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027120524/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmselect/cmstnprv/030ii/sp0157.htm |date=27 October 2016 }}, Select Committee on Standards and Privileges First Report, House of Commons, January 1997</ref> in which Al-Fayed stated that the MP had received up to £110,000 in cash and other gratuities for asking parliamentary questions.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/573630.stm |title=Hamilton loses libel case |work=[[BBC News]] |date=21 December 1999 |access-date=13 November 2022 |archive-date=12 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230912221014/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/573630.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Hamilton's basis for his appeal was that the original verdict was invalid because Al-Fayed had paid £10,000 for documents stolen from the dustbins of Hamilton's legal representatives by [[Benjamin Pell]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Steven |last=Moss |date=12 December 2000 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/dec/12/hamiltonvalfayed.stevenmorris |title=Fayed 'paid for stolen papers' |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=12 December 2016 |archive-date=10 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510193021/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/dec/12/hamiltonvalfayed.stevenmorris |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2003 Fayed moved from [[Surrey]] to Switzerland, alleging a breach in an agreement with [[Inland Revenue|the British tax authority]]. In 2005, he moved back to Britain, saying that he "regards Britain as home".<ref name="BBC20080407" /> He moored a yacht called the ''[[Sokar (yacht)|Sokar]]'' in [[Monaco]] prior to selling it in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://holiday.monacoeye.com/monaco_yacht_show.php |title=Monaco Yacht Show |publisher=Holiday |access-date=22 August 2010 |archive-date=3 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100803045035/http://holiday.monacoeye.com/monaco_yacht_show.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===House of Fraser group and Harrods===
In 1984, Al-Fayed and his brother Ali, purchased a 30 per cent stake for £138 million<ref name="maureen-orth"/> in the [[House of Fraser]], a group that included the [[Knightsbridge]] department store [[Harrods]], from Tiny Rowland, the head of Lonrho. Lonrho had been pursuing control of the House of Fraser since 1977, and had been prevented from acquiring the company by the [[Monopolies and Mergers Commission]] in a 1981 ruling, although its purchase of ''[[The Observer]]'' was approved.<ref name="set-record">{{Cite news|date=16 May 2010|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/may/16/observer-harrods-takeover-mohamed-fayed|title=Time to set the record straight on the Observer and the Harrods takeover|work=The Guardian|location=London|first=Donald|last=Trelford}}</ref>

After his purchase of the House of Fraser shares, Al-Fayed demanded that Rowland leave the board of House of Fraser,<ref name="maureen-orth"/> and courted the chairman of House of Fraser, Roland Smith, who received a retroactive bonus once Al-Fayed had acquired the company.<ref name="maureen-orth"/> The [[Secretary of State for Trade and Industry]], [[John Biffen]], ruled that Lonrho must give an undertaking not to buy any more shares in the House of Fraser, a ruling that left Roland "incandescent".<ref name="set-record"/> Following the ruling Rowland began to sell shares to Al-Fayed, whom he had met while Al-Fayed was briefly a director of Lonrho. Rowland later said that "I knew that Tootsie (as Rowland called Al-Fayed) could never afford to purchase the whole of House of Fraser."<ref name="set-record"/>

Al-Fayed bought the remaining 70 per cent of the House of Fraser in early 1985 for £615 million, sparking a bitter feud between him and Rowland. The former editor of ''The Observer'', [[Donald Trelford]], believes that Rowland was "...certainly motivated in his vendetta against Al-Fayed by outrage at having been conned. But he was also convinced that his shareholders had been cheated."<ref name="set-record"/> Rowland felt his shareholders had been cheated as he believed Al-Fayed had used a power of attorney that he held for the [[Sultan of Brunei]], then the richest man in the world, to fund the purchase.<ref name="set-record"/> Rowland's bitterness also came from his belief that Al-Fayed had lied to the British government about the sources of his wealth, and that the government had failed to investigate Al-Fayed's credentials and had approved the sale without a reference to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (while Lonrho had faced three inquiries under the commission), and that the new trade secretary, [[Norman Tebbit]], had prevented Lonrho from bidding while Al-Fayed's deal went through.<ref name="set-record"/>

===Origins of wealth===
To take control of the House of Fraser group, the Al-Fayed brothers had to convince the British government that they possessed sufficient assets to securely purchase the group. The Al-Fayeds invented a spurious family history of old money for themselves. Represented by the investment bankers [[Kleinwort Benson]] and the law firm [[Herbert Smith]], the Al-Fayeds' bankers submitted to the government a one and a half page summary of their assets, which the government accepted.<ref name="maureen-orth"/> The Al-Fayed brothers claimed they were from a family of wealthy cotton traders. Their wealth was estimated by their bankers, Kleinwort Benson, to total "several billion dollars".<ref name="attack-sleaze">{{Cite news|date=26 October 1994|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/the-attack-on-sleaze-mystery-origins-of-brothers-paper-fortune-james-cusick-looks-at-the-revelations-of-the-dti-investigation-into-the-fayed-familys-business-affairs-1444980.html|title=The Attack on Sleaze: Mystery origins of brothers' paper fortune: James Cusick looks at the revelations of the DTI investigation into the Fayed family's business affairs|work=The Independent|location=London}}</ref> A press release by Kleinwort Benson stated that the Al-Fayeds were an "old established Egyptian family who for more than 100 years were ship owners, land owners and industrialists in Egypt." The report said that they were raised in Britain and fled Egypt following the rise to power of [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]].<ref name="maureen-orth"/>

The DTI report came to very different conclusions about the scale of their wealth, stating that; <blockquote> <p>If people had known, for instance, that they only owned one luxury hotel; that their interests in oil exploration consortia were of no current value; that their banking interests consisted of less than 5 percent of the issued share capital of a bank and were worth less than $10 million; that they had no current interests in construction projects: that far from being 'leading shipowners in the liner trade' they only owned two roll-on roll-off 1600 ton cargo ferries; if all these facts had been known people would have been less disposed to believe that the Al-Fayeds really owned the money they were using to buy HOF (House of Fraser)</p>
<p>''1988 DTI report into the background of the Fayed brothers''</p>
<ref name="maureen-orth"/>
</blockquote>

In March 1985 the Al-Fayeds announced a formal cash offer for House of Fraser of £615 million, which Kleinwort claimed was untethered by any borrowings. There has not yet been a comprehensive account of Al-Fayeds finances in 1985, but the DTI report claimed that by October 1984 the Al-Fayeds had at least $600 million in the Royal Bank of Scotland and in a Swiss bank at their disposal.<ref name="maureen-orth"/> "We were not told the source of any of these funds or given a credible story as to how and where they were obtained", said the DTI inspectors.<ref name="maureen-orth"/> The money the Al-Fayeds claimed as their own was apparently used as collateral in order to guarantee a loan of more than £400 million to buy House of Fraser.<ref name="maureen-orth"/>

Al-Fayed told [[Maureen Orth]] in an interview that "If you have a company with tremendous assets like Harrods...you have no problem. You don't need to use cash."<ref name="maureen-orth"/> The first loan, from a Swiss bank, was replaced with another loan secured by House of Fraser shares, the Al-Fayeds had acquired the House of Fraser with none of their own money used to purchase it.<ref name="maureen-orth"/> The Al-Fayeds ownership of Harrods was complete when the British government issued a press release announcing that it would not refer the Al-Fayeds' bid to the [[Monopolies and Mergers Commission]].<ref name="maureen-orth"/>

During the final stages of the Al-Fayeds purchase of Harrods, [[Tiny Rowland]] wrote to the [[Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills|Secretary of State for Trade and Industry]], [[Norman Tebbit]], repudiating the Al-Fayeds story of the origin of their families wealth.<ref name="maureen-orth"/>  Rowland also enlisted the help of [[Ashraf Marwan]], to aid him in his exposing of the Al-Fayeds. ''[[The Observer]]'' newspaper, owned by Rowland, was used to attack the Al-Fayeds. Al-Fayed issued a libel suit against ''The Observer'', and other newspapers critical of the Al-Fayeds were routinely threatened or issued with similar writs. All critical reporting of the Al-Fayeds outside of the ''Observer'' was virtually stopped.<ref name="maureen-orth"/>

===1988 DTI Report===
From 1985 until 1987 Rowland led a worldwide investigation into Al-Fayed and his acquisition of Harrods. He employed accountants and solicitors, private detectives and freelance journalists in an operation, said to cost many millions of pounds, that was beyond the scope of any newspaper inquiry.<ref name="set-record"/> Illicit bugging devices were used and some of the money went in bribes to officials to unearth incriminating documents in Egypt, Haiti, Dubai, Brunei, France and Switzerland, allegedly proving fraudulent dealings by Al-Fayed and showing his humble origins and limited net worth.<ref name="set-record"/>

The results of Rowland's investigations into the Al-Fayeds were given to the Sunday newspaper ''The Observer'', owned by Lonrho. ''The Observer'' campaigned for an inquiry into the House of Fraser purchase, and an inquiry by inspectors from the Department of Trade and Industry was delivered in July 1988, but the DTI declined to publish it. Rowland obtained a copy in 1989, and the report was published in a special free sixteen page edition of ''The Observer'' on a Thursday morning. Publishing the report helped put the DTI inspectors' findings into the public arena, helping ''The Observer''s libel defence, with the aim of pressuring the government into releasing the report.<ref name="set-record"/> Lawyers from the DTI produced a court injunction and ordered all copies of ''The Observer''s version of the report to be handed over or pulped. The report was officially published in 1990.<ref name="set-record"/>

The DTI report said that the Al-Fayed brothers had 'dishonestly represented their origins, their wealth, their business interests and their resources to the Secretary of State, to the Office of Fair Trading, to the House of Fraser board and shareholders, and their own advisers' <ref name="attack-sleaze"/> Rowland and the Lohnro group had previously been strongly criticised by a 1976 DTI report, and had been described by Prime Minister Edward Heath as "an unpleasant and unacceptable face of capitalism".<ref name="obit-angus">{{Cite news |date=27 December 2004 |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1479803/Sir-Angus-Ogilvy.html|title=Obituary: Sir Angus Ogilvy|publisher=The Telegraph|location=London}}</ref>

In 1993 the [[European Court of Human Rights]] dismissed a case brought by Al-Fayed and his brothers against the British Government, which had accused them of misrepresentation in the DTI report. They contended that the report had ruined their reputation and was not subject to appeal.<ref name="suit-fayeds">{{Cite news |date=27 December 2004 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/22/business/suit-by-fayeds-is-dismissed.html|title=Suit by Fayeds is Dismissed | work =  The New York Times}}</ref>

===Ownership of Harrods===
Harrods had entered a steady decline under Hugh Fraser, yet still accounted for half of the House of Fraser group's profits. Determined to restore Harrods' fortunes, Al-Fayed hired Brian Walsh as manager of House of Fraser.<ref>Bower 1998, p. 134.</ref> Walsh created divisions in the company, and more than 200 buyers resigned in the next two years. Following arguments with Al-Fayed, Walsh was fired in October 1987. To calm staff, Al-Fayed distributed envelopes containing £2,000 in cash.<ref>Bower 1998, p. 197.</ref> Following Walsh's departure, Al-Fayed moved his offices onto the fifth floor of Harrods, and took a more hands-on role as chairman of the store.<ref>Bower 1998, p.197.</ref> Walsh was replaced by Michael Ellis-Jones, who was fired after eight weeks.<ref>Bower 1998, p. 204.</ref>
[[File:Harrods (London).jpg|thumb|right|The Harrods Building]]

Christoph Bettermann became the deputy chairman of Harrods in 1990, after having worked for Al-Fayed in Dubai since 1984.<ref name="maureen-orth"/> Bettermann was approached to work in the [[Emirate of Sharjah]], in April 1991, and in June, Bettermann told [[Maureen Orth]], Al-Fayed "showed me a written transcript of a phone conversation between the headhunter and me. He accused me of breaking our trust by talking to these people. I told him, 'If you don't trust me, I resign. I cannot trust you if you bugged my phone.'" Bettermann quit his job at Harrods and went to work for an oil company in Sharjah.<ref name="maureen-orth"/>

Al-Fayed wrote to the ruler of Sharjah, and accused Bettermann of stealing large sums of money.<ref name="maureen-orth"/> Bettermann was cleared by three courts in which Fayed had pressed charges.<ref name="maureen-orth"/>

Al-Fayed delighted in retail theatre, and during his 25 years at Harrods dressed as a Harrods doorman, a boy scout and Father Christmas over the years.<ref name="Bower 1998, p. 236"/> Celebrities were also hired to open the annual Harrods sale, and Harrods sponsored the annual [[Royal Windsor Horse Show]] as it had done since 1982. In 1997 Harrods' sponsorship of the horse show was terminated after Prime Minister [[John Major]] had urged the chairman of the show to find a new sponsor to save Queen [[Elizabeth II]] from association with Al-Fayed.<ref>Bower 1998, p. 449.</ref>

The artist and designer, William Mitchell, was hired by Al-Fayed to create an 'entertaining retail environment'; this resulted in the creation of an Egyptian Hall on the ground floor of Harrods and, following its success, the Egyptian Escalators, which replaced the store's central lifts.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.william-mitchell.com/harrods.htm |title=William George Mitchell - Bio |access-date=1 March 2018 |archive-date=1 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301181757/http://www.william-mitchell.com/harrods.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Mitchell also designed memorials for Dodi Fayed and Diana, Princess of Wales at Harrods. Al-Fayed claimed to have invested more than £400 million restoring Harrods, with £20 million<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Elliott |first1=Chris |url= |title=Imhotep Today: Egyptianizing architecture |last2=Griffis-Greenberg |first2=Katherine |last3=Lunn |first3=Richard |date=2016-06-16 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-42700-3 |editor-last=Humbert |editor-first=Jean-Marcel |series=Encounters with Ancient Egypt |pages=105–121 |language=en |chapter=Chapter 6: Egypt in London — Entertainment and Commerce in the 20th Century Metropolis |id=[[Google Books]] [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Imhotep_Today/SMVmDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA118&printsec=frontcover SMVmDAAAQBAJ] |quote=The escalators and their accompanying Egyptianesque decoration cost nearly £20 million. |quote-page=118}} Replaces edition of this book produced by Institute of Archaeology, University College London under {{ISBN|1-84472-006-3}} in 2003. Originally published by UCL Press in 2003. First published 2011 by Left Coast Press, Inc.</ref> or £75 million<ref>{{Cite news |last=Davey |first=Jenny |date=May 9, 2010 |title=Fayed leaves Harrods — alive |url=<!-- was http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/retailing/article7120599.ece with title "Mohamed al-Fayed in £1.5bn Harrods sale" --> |work=The Sunday Times |page=3 of Section 3 "BUSINESS" |publication-place=London, England |issue=9688 |id={{Gale|BDGEJS959533574}}}}</ref> being spent on the Egyptian escalator.

In 1991 the House of Commons Trade and Industry Committee told the [[Governor of the Bank of England]], [[Robin Leigh-Pemberton]] to order the Fayeds to transfer control of the Harrods Bank to trustees, after they found that the Fayeds were not "fit and proper" to run the bank.<ref>Bower 1998, p.283.</ref> Al-Fayed bought his brother, Saleh, out of his interest in Harrods for £100 million in 1994.<ref>Bower 1998, p.323.</ref> In 1994, before [[House of Fraser]] plc was relisted on the [[London Stock Exchange]], Harrods was moved out of the group so that it could remain under the private ownership of Al-Fayed and his family.<ref name =history>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_71300_en.pdf|title=House of Fraser archive project|accessdate=27 September 2024}}</ref>

====Employee relations====
Al-Fayed was concerned by the loyalty of his staff, and employed two young Greek women as spies, to report on their fellow employees.<ref name="Bower 1998, p. 200">Bower 1998, p. 200.</ref> The telephones of the shop workers' trade union, [[USDAW]] were bugged.<ref name="Bower 1998, p. 200"/> Employees were signed to three-month contracts, and were often fired without agreed compensation, and forced to go to an industrial tribunal.<ref>Bower 1998, p. 201.</ref> Al-Fayed also listened in to his employees, and secretly recorded conversations about their sex lives.<ref name="Bower 1998, p. 236">Bower 1998, p. 236.</ref>

Al-Fayed would customarily fire employees who offended his idea of aesthetics, being most offended by overweight staff or black people.<ref>Bower 1998, p.198.</ref> To avoid hiring black people, Harrods required applicants to submit photographs.<ref name="Bower 1998, p.202">Bower 1998, p.202.</ref> The number of black people employed by Harrods was eventually half the number employed by other London stores.<ref name="Bower 1998, p.202"/>

Francesca Bettermann, Harrods former legal counsel, said of Al-Fayed "He likes a pretty face. He wouldn't hire someone who was ugly. He liked them light-skinned, well educated, English, and young...I remember there was something on the application form that said, 'Your colour, race' I said, 'You're not allowed to put that on the form,' and he said, 'Well, make sure they put proper photos in, then.'" <ref name="maureen-orth"/> In 1994 Harrods settled five racial-discrimination cases brought against the company, and, according to trade union officials, between June and September 1994, 23 of the 28 staff fired were black people, who had held mostly menial jobs.<ref name="maureen-orth"/>

A florist was rejected for employment by Harrods because she was black. The chairman of the subsequent industrial tribunal condemned Harrods's defence as 'malicious and dishonest', stating 'there was an act of blatant racial discrimination...by a very senior personnel officer working in a very large organisation...there was lying and deceit on the part of Harrods personnel to conceal the act of discrimination. There was dishonest testimony by Harrods personnel'.<ref>Bower 1998, p.446.</ref>

====Royal warrants====
In August 2010, in a letter to the ''[[Daily Telegraph]]'', Al-Fayed revealed that he had burnt Harrods's [[Royal Warrant of Appointment (United Kingdom)|royal warrants]], after taking them down in 2000. Harrods had held the Royal warrants since 1910. Describing the warrants as a "curse", Al-Fayed claimed that business had tripled since their removal. The [[Duke of Edinburgh]] removed his warrant in January 2000,<ref name="TelegJun11">{{Cite news|last=Mendick|first=Robert|date=26 June 2011|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/diana/8598896/Anger-as-Mohammed-Fayed-burns-Harrods-royal-warrants.html|title=Anger as Mohamed Fayed burns Harrods royal warrants|publisher=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|access-date=22 September 2024|archive-date=13 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313133229/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/diana/8598896/Anger-as-Mohammed-Fayed-burns-Harrods-royal-warrants.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and the other warrants were removed from Harrods by Al-Fayed in December, pending their five-yearly review. The Duke of Edinburgh had been banned from Harrods by Al-Fayed.<ref name="everything-must">{{Cite news |date=23 December 2000|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1379216/Everything-must-go-as-Harrods-cuts-royal-links.html|title=Everything must go as Harrods cuts royal links|publisher=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|first=Robert|last=Hardman}}</ref> Film of the burning of the warrants in 2009 was shown in the final scene of ''Unlawful Killing'', a film funded by Al-Fayed and directed by [[Keith Allen (actor)|Keith Allen]].<ref name="TelegJun11"/>

====Sale of Harrods====
After denials that it was for sale, Harrods was sold to [[Qatar Holdings]], the [[sovereign wealth fund]] of the emirate of [[Qatar]] in May 2010.<ref name="IndependentMay10">{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/qatar-the-tiny-gulf-state-that-bought-the-world-1970551.html |title=Qatar, the tiny Gulf state that bought the world. |publisher=Independent |date=10 May 2010 |accessdate=22 September 2024|location=London}}</ref> A spokesman for Al-Fayed said "in reaching the decision to retire, (Al-Fayed) wished to ensure that the legacy and traditions that he has built up in Harrods would be continued." Harrods was sold for £1.5 billion.<ref name="Guardian 2010-05-10">{{cite news|last=Sutherland|first=Ruth|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/may/08/mohammed-al-fayed-harrods-sold-qatar|title=Harrods sold for £1.5bn as Mohamed Al Fayed retires|date=8 May 2010|work=[[The Guardian]]|accessdate=22 September 2024}}</ref>

Al-Fayed later said that he decided to sell Harrods following the difficulty in getting his [[dividend]] approved by the trustee of the Harrods pension fund. Fayed said "I'm here every day, I can't take my profit because I have to take a permission of those bloody idiots...I say is this right? Is this logic? Somebody like me? I run a business and I need to take bloody fucking trustee's permission to take my profit".<ref name="ESMay10">{{cite news |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/mohamed-fayed-why-i-sold-harrods-6473745.html |title=Mohammed Fayed: Why I Sold Harrods |first=Sam |last=Leith |newspaper=[[Evening Standard]] |date=26 May 2010 |access-date=22 September 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701144627/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23838358-a-four-letter-farewell-from-mohammed-fayed.do|archive-date=1 July 2010}}</ref> Al-Fayed was appointed honorary chairman of Harrods, for six months.<ref name="ESMay10" />
[[File:Harrods London (1).jpg|thumb|The Brompton Road frontage of [[Harrods]] in 2022]]

===Scotland real estate===
In 1972 Fayed purchased the Balnagown estate in [[Easter Ross]] in northern Scotland. From an initial {{convert|4.8|ha|acre|abbr=off}}, Al-Fayed went on to build the estate up to {{convert|26300|ha|acre|abbr=off}}.<ref name="highland-jetset">{{cite news |date=4 July 2005 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/alfayed-to-fill-highland-estate-with-jetset-homes-497551.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120906054019/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/alfayed-to-fill-highland-estate-with-jetset-homes-497551.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 September 2012 |title=Al-Fayed to fill Highland estate with jet-set homes |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |location=London |first=Paul |last=Kelbie |url-access=registration}}</ref> He invested more than £20&nbsp;million in the estate, restored the 14th-century pink [[Balnagown Castle]], and created a tourist accommodation business.<ref name="highland-jetset"/> The Highlands of Scotland tourist board awarded Al-Fayed the Freedom of the [[Scottish Highlands]] in 2002, in recognition of his "efforts to promote the area".<ref>{{cite web |title=Highlands freedom for al-Fayed |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/2536895.stm |work=BBC News|access-date=3 September 2023|date=3 December 2002|archive-date=5 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005154117/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/2536895.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

As an Egyptian with links to Scotland, Al-Fayed funded a 2008 reprint of the 15th-century chronicle ''[[Scotichronicon]]'' by [[Walter Bower]]. The ''Scotichronicon'' describes how [[Scota]], a daughter of an Egyptian Pharaoh, fled her family and landed in Scotland, bringing with her the [[Stone of Scone]]. According to the chronicle, Scotland was later named in her honour. The tale is disputed by modern historians.<ref name="fayed-princess">{{Cite news |date=19 May 2008 |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article3965279.ece |title=Al Fayed, a Princess and another theory the establishment denies |newspaper=[[The Times]] |location=London |first=Mike |last=Wade |access-date=28 March 2012 |archive-date=8 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008020025/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article3965279.ece |url-status=dead }}</ref> Al-Fayed later declared that "The Scots are originally Egyptians and that's the truth."<ref name="make-ruler">{{Cite news |date=25 October 2009 |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article6889088.ece |title=Forget Salmond: Make me your ruler |newspaper=[[The Times]] |location=London |first=Marc |last=Horne |url-access=subscription |access-date=28 March 2012 |archive-date=13 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813144904/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article6889088.ece |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2009 Al-Fayed revealed that he was a supporter of [[Scottish independence]] from the United Kingdom, announcing to the Scots that "It's time for you to waken up and detach yourselves from the English and their terrible politicians...whatever help is needed for Scotland to regain its independence, I will provide it...when you Scots regain your freedom, I am ready to be your president."<ref name="make-ruler"/>

===Charity===
Fayed set up the Al Fayed Charitable Foundation in 1987 aiming to help children with life-limiting conditions and children living in poverty. The charity works mainly with charities and hospices for disabled and neglected children in the UK, Thailand, and Mongolia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.the-acf.com/who-we-are.aspx|title=Who we are |website=The AlFayed Charitable Foundation |access-date=11 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011233339/http://www.the-acf.com/who-we-are.aspx|archive-date=11 October 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> It works with charities including Francis House Hospice in Manchester, [[Great Ormond Street Hospital]], and [[ChildLine]]. In September 1997, West Heath School in [[Sevenoaks]], Kent, United Kingdom, was placed into receivership. West Heath was the former school of [[Diana, Princess of Wales]]. Al-Fayed bought the school for £2.5 million in May 1998 and it became the new premises for the Beth Marie Centre for Traumatised Children, which had previously been based in Sevenoaks. The school reopened as [[The New School at West Heath]] in September 1998.<ref name="BBCMay98">{{Cite news |date=20 May 1998 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/97667.stm|title=Al Fayed buys Diana's school|publisher=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/charitable-side-mohamed-al-fayed/article/620770 |title=The charitable side of ... Mohamed Al Fayed |work=The Third Sector |date=11 January 2006 |first=Gemma |last=Ware |publisher=Haymarket Media Group |access-date=28 June 2013 |archive-date=8 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408175415/http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/charitable-side-mohamed-al-fayed/article/620770 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2011 Mohamed Al-Fayed's daughter Camilla, who had worked as an ambassador for the charity for eight years,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/heiress-camilla-al-fayed-liverpool-3010791 |title=Heiress Camilla Al Fayed on why Liverpool babies' hospice Zoe's Place is an inspiration |newspaper=[[Liverpool Echo]] |access-date=28 June 2013 |first=Dawn |last=Collinson |date=27 March 2013 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233644/http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/heiress-camilla-al-fayed-liverpool-3010791 |url-status=live }}</ref> opened the newly refurbished Zoe's Place baby hospice in [[West Derby]], Liverpool.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2011/09/09/camilla-al-fayed-opens-newly-refurbished-zoe-s-place-baby-hospice-in-west-derby-99623-29389925/ |title=Camilla Al Fayed opens newly refurbished Zoe's Place baby hospice in West Derby |work=[[Liverpool Daily Post]] |access-date=28 June 2013 |archive-date=3 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240403043703/https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Fulham F.C.===
{{Main|Fulham F.C.#1997–2001: Al-Fayed takeover}}

Al-Fayed bought west London professional football club [[Fulham F.C.]] for £6.75&nbsp;million in 1997.<ref name="fulham-pushed">{{Cite news|date=7 February 2003 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2395783/Fulham-pushed-out-Hill.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2395783/Fulham-pushed-out-Hill.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Fulham pushed out Hill |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |first=Mihir |last=Bose}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The purchase was made via Bill Muddyman's Muddyman Group.<ref name="fulham-pushed"/> His long-term aim was that Fulham would become a [[Premier League]] side within five years. In the 2000–01 season, Fulham won the [[2000–2001 Football League#First Division|First Division]] under manager [[Jean Tigana]], winning 101 points and scoring 90 goals, and were promoted to the Premier League. This meant that Al-Fayed had achieved his Premier League aim a year ahead of schedule.<ref name="mirror23">{{cite web |last1=Polden |first1=Jake |title=Mohamed Al Fayed: Owner who promised Fulham fans Man Utd dreams and offered stars Viagra |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/mohamed-al-fayed-offered-fulham-30845175 |website=Daily Mirror |access-date=3 September 2023 |date=1 September 2023 |archive-date=2 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902124353/https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/mohamed-al-fayed-offered-fulham-30845175 |url-status=live }}</ref> By 2002, Fulham were competing in European football, winning the [[Intertoto Cup]] and participating in the [[UEFA Cup]]. Fulham reached the [[2010 UEFA Europa League final]], which they lost to [[Atletico Madrid]],<ref name="mirror23" /> and continued to play in the Premier League throughout Al-Fayed's tenure as owner, which ended in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fulham's relegation and the curse of Michael Jackson's statue |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-27310805 |website=BBC News |access-date=3 September 2023 |date=7 May 2014 |archive-date=3 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230903145911/https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-27310805 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Fulham temporarily left [[Craven Cottage]] while it was being upgraded to meet modern safety standards. There were fears that the club would not return to the Cottage after it was revealed that Al-Fayed had sold the first right to build on the ground to a property development firm.<ref name="future-hangs">{{cite news |title=Fulham's future hangs in balance |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/f/fulham/3084328.stm |work=BBC Sport |date=15 September 2003 |access-date=13 November 2022 |archive-date=12 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112222617/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/f/fulham/3084328.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Al Fayed congratulates Brian McBride.jpg|thumb|Al-Fayed congratulating [[Fulham F.C.|Fulham]] goalscorer [[Brian McBride]] in May 2008]]
Fulham lost a legal case against former manager Tigana in 2004 after Al-Fayed had wrongly alleged that Tigana had overpaid more than £7m for new players and had negotiated transfers in secret.<ref name="fulham-lose">{{cite news |title=Fulham lose Tigana court battle |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/f/fulham/4005735.stm |work=[[BBC News]] |date=12 November 2004 |access-date=13 November 2022 |archive-date=28 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328073352/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/f/fulham/4005735.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2009, Al-Fayed said that he was in favour of a wage cap for footballers, and criticised the management of [[The Football Association]] and [[Premier League]] as "run by donkeys who don't understand business, who are dazzled by money."<ref name="sport-quotes">{{Cite news |date=29 April 2009 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/funny_old_game/8024421.stm |title=Sport quotes of the week |work=BBC Sport |first=Chris |last=Charles |access-date=13 November 2022 |archive-date=30 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130184955/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/funny_old_game/8024421.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Fulham statue of Michael Jackson|A statue of the American entertainer]] [[Michael Jackson]] was unveiled by Al-Fayed in April 2011 at Craven Cottage. In 1999 Jackson had attended a league game against [[Wigan Athletic]] at the stadium. Following criticism of the statue, Al-Fayed said "If some stupid fans don't understand and appreciate such a gift this guy gave to the world they can go to hell. I don't want them to be fans."<ref name="jackson-fulham">{{cite news|date=3 April 2011|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12950708|title=Michael Jackson Fulham FC statue defended by Al Fayed|work=BBC News|access-date=20 June 2018|archive-date=25 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180525184513/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12950708|url-status=live}}</ref> The statue was taken down by the club's new owners in 2013; Al-Fayed blamed the club's subsequent relegation from the Premier League on the 'bad luck' brought by its removal. Al-Fayed then donated the statue to the [[National Football Museum]].<ref name="Jackson statue moves to National Football Museum">{{cite news|date=6 May 2014|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27302594|title=Michael Jackson statue moves to National Football Museum|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=12 February 2018|archive-date=22 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140922021024/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27302594|url-status=live}}</ref> In March 2019, the statue was removed from the museum, with a spokesperson saying it had been planned for "several months" to introduce exhibits that "better represent" football; the removal followed accusations of child sexual abuse by Jackson in the documentary ''[[Leaving Neverland]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-47468074 |title=Michael Jackson statue: National Football Museum removes artwork |work=[[BBC News]] |date=6 March 2019 |access-date=27 January 2020 |language=en-GB |archive-date=28 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128223317/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-47468074 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Under Al-Fayed Fulham F.C. was owned by Mafco Holdings, based in the [[tax haven]] of [[Bermuda]] and in turn owned by Al-Fayed and his family. By 2011, Al-Fayed had lent Fulham F.C. £187&nbsp;million in interest free loans.<ref name="record-losses">{{Cite news |date=19 May 2010 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2011/may/19/premier-league-finances-black-hole |title=Record income but record losses for Premier League |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |first=David |last=Conn |access-date=12 December 2016 |archive-date=1 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201173253/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2011/may/19/premier-league-finances-black-hole |url-status=live }}</ref> In July 2013, it was announced that Al-Fayed had sold the club to Pakistani American businessman [[Shahid Khan]], who owns the [[NFL]]'s [[Jacksonville Jaguars]].<ref name="Fulham Sold">{{cite news |title=Al-Fayed sells Fulham to Shahid Khan |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23297785 |work=BBC Sport |date=12 July 2013 |access-date=12 February 2018 |archive-date=1 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141001013222/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23297785 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5784727/2024/09/23/fulham-mohamed-al-fayed/|title=Fulham, Mohamed Al Fayed and the 'legacy of a man who was really a monster'|work=The New York Times |last1=Rutzler |first1=Peter |date=23 September 2024 }}</ref>