Meet Mohamed Al-Fayed’s environmentalist son, Omar Fayed: he admires Elon Musk and King Charles, remembers Princes William and Harry as ‘delightful’ – and ‘never wanted to be Mr. Harrods’
Mohamed Al-Fayed – the former Harrods boss whose eldest son Dodi died in a car crash alongside Princess Diana – has died at the age of 94, his family announced last week.
According to Forbes, the Egyptian billionaire businessman leaves behind a US$2 billion fortune and is survived by his four adult children – Camilla, Omar, Jasmine and Karim.
Yet, amid the mourning, one burning question remains – what will happen to the late entrepreneur’s assets?
The Evening Standard reported that the children are currently “at war” over the billions, in a scenario that’s been described as a “Succession-style battle”, referring to the hit HBO series following the lives of the Murdoch-like Roy family.
So, what do we know about the youngest of the five, Omar Fayed?
Omar Fayed’s family background
Mohamed Al-Fayed had five children. He shared his late son Dodi with his first wife Samira Khashoggi, and went on to have the other four with second wife Heini Wathén: Jasmine, 42, Karim, 39, Camilla, 38, and Omar, 35, as per Evening Standard.
Born in London in 1987, Omar is the youngest of the clan. He once told The Telegraph that he “grew up in quite an entrepreneurial family” – something that would clearly have an impact on his future endeavours.
He’s an environmentalist
According to his profile on Synergetic Press, a company which he chairs, Fayed is an entrepreneur, environmentalist and businessman. He told British newspaper The Telegraph that while he benefited from the example of how his dad worked and was always ambitious in getting to grips with the business world, finance and economics, consumer culture troubled him.
Rather than going in to retail then, from 2014 to 2020, Fayed served as a chairman to Biotecture, a leading living wall and hydroponics company based in West Sussex, as per his LinkedIn.
His company Estee advocates for human space exploration
Fayed is now the CEO of Estee (Earth Space Technical Ecosystem Enterprises) based in Switzerland and Britain. The company advocates for sustainable living on earth as well as human space exploration with a goal to “facilitate humanity’s settlement of other planets”, according to the company’s homepage. In 2013, Fayed even had the chance to show his business plan to Stephen Hawking at an awards ceremony in Geneva.
The budding entrepreneur is also the founder and CEO of social media platform EarthX. Fayed previously met Elon Musk – who shares similar interests and values – in California, and said in an interview that he admires Musk’s “boldness and pioneering pathway”.
His partner is a classical pianist
Fayed reportedly lives in a Primrose Hill mews house with his classical pianist partner Anastasia Parker and their son Albert, but he keeps his family life private. He does, however, post the occasional photo with his dog.
His feud with sister Camilla
Back in 2020, two Al-Fayed siblings became embroiled in a feud over an incident that occurred at their father’s estate during the Covid-19 lockdown, per Evening Standard.
Omar claimed he was attacked by Camilla’s husband, Syrian businessman Mohamad Esreb, but Camilla clapped back and said that her brother was “on drugs”. A judge reportedly told the parties to settle their case in private in order to avoid an expensive High Court battle.
The outcome is still unknown, but Omar did address the controversy in an interview, stating: “It’s sad and super silly what is going on with Camilla. A classic Trustafarian tragedy.” He later added, “There is no time for fighting.”
He “never wanted to be Mr Harrods”
Omar was initially groomed as an heir to the Al-Fayed empire. He joined the family business in 2006 after his brother Dodi’s death, and became a director of Harrods at just 19 years old.
However, he resigned three years and eight months later, claiming he had concerns about the Knightsbridge department store not being the ethical workplace he wanted it to be, according to Evening Standard, and the company was sold to the Qatari royal family a year later.
He said in an interview, “I never wanted to be Mr Harrods,” but added that he was very grateful for the opportunity. “Dad would introduce me as his next boss when I worked in his office on weekends and during holidays, but it was very light. There was no pressure. I realised it would be an amazing experience.”
He said that he met an endless array of celebrities, presidents, religious leaders and the like, but “failed to find any solace in any of the people I met and their perspectives”, adding that it “felt like it was all fine jewellery and fast fashion”.
He admires King Charles
In interviews, Fayed expressed his fondness for one royal in particular: King Charles. “I really admire what HRH has done with his blessings and burdens to further work around local communities and regional agriculture. I love that,” he said.
That wasn’t his only brush with British royalty, however, as he said he met Princess Diana (his late half-brother Dodi’s girlfriend) and her kids Princes William and Harry back in the day, and was with them on the Al-Fayed family yacht in St. Tropez just weeks before the fateful crash. “They came to my dad’s house, too, and were super delightful,” he said.
