 But it's amazing Farouk is a good as he, given his mother.” Knowing of his family's genetic predisposition to obesity, King Fuad kept Farouk on a strict diet, warning him that the male descendants of Mohammad Ali the Great tended to get obese very easily.Farouk's closest friend when growing up and later as an adult was the Italian electrician at the Abdeen Palace, Antonio Pulli, who became one of Egypt's most powerful men during his reign.An attempt to enlist Farouk at Eton was thwarted when he failed the entrance exams.