Mohamed Al Fayed (Chairman of Harrods) - Information, Featured Articles, London's Movers & Shakers

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Mohamed Al Fayed (Chairman of Harrods)

Born in Alexandria, Egypt, the young Mohamed was the middle of three sons of a primary school teacher. Unlike his own children, Mr Al Fayed was not from a wealthy family, indeed, his arch-enemy, "Tiny" Rowland, once dubbed him "the hero from zero".

Through his first job as a sewing machine salesman, where he earned 10 Egyptian pounds a month, Mr Al Fayed met Adnan Khashoggi.

This proved important to him because he went on to work for Mr Khashoggi, who ran an import business in Saudi Arabia, and to marry his sister, Samira. Although neither relationship lasted, Mr Al Fayed's marriage brought him his first son, Dodi.

Around this point, Mr Al Fayed added the prefix 'Al' to his surname. He also started his own shipping business and became an adviser to the Sultan of Brunei, one of the world's richest men.

His first major European purchase was the Paris Ritz, which he bought in 1979. From that time onwards Mr Al Fayed continually had his eye on Harrods and the House of Fraser chain, his opportunity to pounce came in 1985, when he succeeded in clinching a £615 million takeover bid.

But in some ways, this was the start of his problems as the refusal of Tiny Rowland to accept the new owners led directly to the Deptment of Trade and Industry inquiry, the report of which is most often held against Mr Al Fayed.

The report did not remove Harrods' ownership from Mr Al Fayed but it cast serious aspersions on his personal integrity by describing him as "unreliable, untrue and bogus".

In addition, it raised suspicions about how Mr Al Fayed, and his younger brother Ali, had managed to raise funds for such a large bid and concluded: "We are satisfied that the image they created between November 1984 and March 1985 of their wealthy Egyptian ancestors was completely bogus."

By this time, Mr Al Fayed had four British children by his second wife and was paying millions of pounds in tax to the British Government. He also gave millions more to charities, such as the Great Ormond Street Hospital, and financed films, including Chariots of Fire, which Dodi Al Fayed co-produced.

But the 1990 Deptment of Trade and Industries report appeared to be the deciding factor when Mr Al Fayed decided to apply for British citizenship. The British Nationality Act stipulates all successful applicants need to be of good character.

Whether or not this led directly to Mr Al Fayed's allegations of bribe-taking among politicians is mainly speculation, but it certainly increased his contempt for the British "Establishment" at the same time as he refused to let it diminish his love for this country.