Fayed was born in Alexandria, Egypt and was the eldest son of the Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed, former owner of Harrods department store. He was the half-brother of Omar, Camilla, Karim and Jasmine Al-Fayed. Dodi's popular father was also the former owner of Fulham Football Club and the Hôtel Ritz Paris.[1] Dodi's mother was the Saudi Arabian author Samira Khashoggi;[2] her father was Dr Muhammad Khashoggi, who was of Turkish descent, and brother to the billionaire arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi.[2][3] Fayed was a student at Collège Saint Marc before attending the Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland.[4][5] He also briefly attended Sandhurst.[1] After completing his education, he served as an attaché at the United Arab Emirates Embassy in London.[5]