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Sulaiman Al-Fahim

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Sulaiman Al-Fahim
سليمان الفهيم
Born1977
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Alma materAmerican University
Occupation(s)CEO of Hydra Properties
Abu Dhabi United Group

Sulaiman Abdul Kareem Mohammad Al-Fahim (Template:Lang-ar) (born 1977 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates) is the controversial ex-CEO of the Abu Dhabi based Hydra Properties real estate development company. Al-Fahim is a 10% shareholder and non-executive chairman of English football club Portsmouth, which plays in the Premier League, having sold a 90% share to Ali Al-Faraj in October 2009, after only 40 days as the full owner.

Early life

Al-Fahim was born in Dubai in 1977. From the age of eleven he worked in his father's Orient Pharmacy after school. At the age eighteen he founded the "Sulaiman Al Fahim Group" which financed education and sports in the UAE. In 1998, when he was 21, he was left orphaned after his parents and younger brother were killed in a road traffic accident near Dubai Airport. Following this loss he moved to the United States. There Al-Fahim received his MBA in Finance and Real Estate from Kogod School of Business of the American University in Washington DC.

Controversy

While Fahim often uses the honourific "Doctor" before his name, the legitimacy of this title has been questioned. Fahim claims to have acquired a Ph.D. in real estate investment from the Kogod School of Business at American University in Washington. However, the school has no such program and records there do not indicate Fahim acquired any degrees other than his MBA.

Hydra Properties

Al-Fahim was CEO of Hydra Properties, a United Arab Emirates real estate company he founded in 2005. Current projects include Al Reem Island; Mazatlan, Mexico; Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Some investors who bought real estate developed by Hydra Properties have accused the company of unethical behaviour because it had altered the details of plans and increased the price of homes in a time of falling house prices and construction costs. There are also concerns from buyers of off-plan property with Hydra Properties regarding the lack of progress on site of the flagship development, Hydra Village. While 2500 villas are supposed to be handed over in 2009, construction progress has been virtually non-existent.

Hydra Executives

Al-Fahim is the founder and host of the business themed reality television show Hydra Executives which was launched in Spring 2008. Al-Fahim has often been referred to as an Abu Dhabi version of Donald Trump. Hydra Executives will be shown from mid October 2008 on Real Estate TV in the UK and Ireland, found on Sky channel 262. Hydra Executives will also be broadcast on VOD via www.realestatetv.tv, also on SHOWTIME, INFINITY TV, ABU DHABI TV, and many other TV channels in the Middle East.

Sport

A keen chess player, Al-Fahim represented his country as a youth and is currently president of the UAE Chess Association, also claiming to have been ranked fifth in the world in his age group at the age of nine. In June 2008, Al Fahim was elected as a new president of UAE Chess Federation for 2008–2012. Through his company Hydra Properties he is involved in sponsorship of Dubai sports television, a Costa Rican soccer team and the German Bundesliga. Al-Fahim is a fan of the football clubs Al Ain and Al Jazeera, and is building a new football academy in Abu Dhabi with Italian football giants Internazionale.

Manchester City

On 1 September 2008 the Abu Dhabi United Group, of which Al-Fahim is a board member, agreed the take over of Premier League football club Manchester City. The deal was signed at the Emirates Palace Hotel in the presence of Al-Fahim, who represented ADUG. Within hours of the take over deal being finalized, ADUG financed the purchase of Robinho for a British transfer record of £32.5 million. Al-Fahim was widely believed to be the new owner and potential chairman for the club, and made bold statements about his plans to "solve all the club problems". He was outspoken about his ambition to " the best football players in the world", and stated that he was "prepared to make a £134 million bid for Cristiano Ronaldo during the January transfer window." However, before the take over was completed, wealthy backer Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan became a more prominent figure, and it became unclear whether Al-Fahim would join the board at Manchester City; Khaldoon Al Mubarak was appointed as the clubs new chairman. In March 2009, it was mistakenly reported by Sport that Al-Fahim was a board member at the club, causing Manchester City to clarify that he held no position.

Portsmouth

On 27 May 2009, it was reported that Al-Fahim had signed a deal to take over the English Premier League club Portsmouth. Owner Alexandre Gaydamak agreed a price of around £60 million, with the deal proposed to be completed by 28 July 2009. On 13 July the club's website said that the due diligence part of the deal had been completed, Al-Fahim Asia Associates were conducting their final commercial assessment, and that a formal application for the "Fit and Proper Persons" test to the Premier League had been submitted. On 21 July, it was confirmed that Al-Fahim had passed the test and that an agreement in principle had been reached to sell the club with Al-Fahim joining the board as chairman. On 29 July, BBC Sport reported that the sales and purchase agreement needed to be finalised to close the transaction. However, on 19 August, the club's website revealed that a new consortium led by the current club CEO Peter Storrie was negotiating over the purchase of the team, and that Al-Fahim may be a partner in the new consortium. On 26 August 2009 The News, confirmed that Sulaiman Al-Fahim was the new owner of Portsmouth F.C. having full control of the club. On 2 October 2009, it was reported by BBC Sport that Al-Fahim was in hospital in Dubai, with kidney stones. On 5 October 2009, just over 40 days after purchasing the club, Al-Fahim sold 90 percent of his stake in Portsmouth to Ali al-Faraj and his business Falcondrone Ltd. As part of the deal Al-Fahim became non-executive chairman at the club until the end of the 2010–11 season. In an interview on 16 October 2009, Al-Fahim stated that it had been a good investment as he had sold 90 percent of the shares for £70 million and retained all of the club's real estate assets. In a previous interview with Arabian Business, Al Fahim contradicted this statement by claiming he sold Portsmouth for zero pounds.

Charity work and further controversy

In December 2008, Al-Fahim was appointed by the Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina Against Malnutrition (IIMSAM) as a Goodwill Ambassador at Large in support of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by encouraging the use of Spirulina to eradicate malnutrition. As part of this Al-Fahim and his wife have claimed to have launched a charity in Kenya called Dar al Mumineen, where they have sponsored and looked after the medical needs of a few thousand children. Further controversy has followed Al Fahim as the United Nations deny endorsing IIMSAM and its lawyers are seeking clarification of Al Fahim's tendency to refer to himself as a UN Ambassador.

References

  1. Sayed, Sara (23 May 2008). "Hydra CEO shares his success story". Gulf News. Al Nisr Publishing. Retrieved 14 September 2008.
  2. ^ "Top flight prepares for Manchester's 'Trump' card". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. 2 September 2008. Retrieved 14 September 2008.
  3. ^ "Hydra Executives - CEO". Archived from the original on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  4. Landon Thomas Jr. (8 June 2009). "Questions About a Desert Village". New York Times. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  5. ^ Gripper, Ann (1 September 2008). "10 Things you need to know about Manchester City's Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 2 September 2008.
  6. "Hydra Properties - Projects". Retrieved 2 September 2008.
  7. Delmore-Morgan, Alex (19 February 2008). "Hydra Properties defends price hike for Village homes". Arabian Business. Arabian Business. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  8. Scott, Matt (31 May 2009). "Concerns arise over proposed Middle Eastern takeover of Portsmouth". The Guardian. The Guardian. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  9. ^ Stafford, Philip (1 September 2008). "Abu Dhabi investors buy Manchester City". Financial Times. Pearson PLC. Retrieved 2 September 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  10. Herbert, Ian (2 September 2008). "Arrival of Al-Fahim offers City chance to bridge gulf in class". The Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 14 September 2008.
  11. UAE Chess - Federation Board - http://www.uaechess.net/index.php?pg=management&cat_id=7
  12. "Manchester City Takeover". ArabianBusiness.com. 2 September 2008. Retrieved 2 September 2008.
  13. Wilson, Jeremy (3 September 2008). "Chelsea's world shaken up by Manchester City's super-rich sheikh". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 September 2008.
  14. ^ "Sulaiman Al-Fahim planning £134m January bid for Cristiano Ronaldo". Times Online. News International. 2 September 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2008.
  15. Wilson, Jeremy (1 September 2008). "New Manchester City owner, aged 31, 'the Donald Trump of Abu Dhabi'". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  16. ^ "Arab group agrees Man City deal". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  17. Wilson, Jeremy (8 September 2009). "Manchester City front man Sulaiman Al Fahim sidelined". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  18. Rich, Tim (21 September 2008). "Robinho inspires Manchester City slickers". Telegraph.co.uk. Hollinger Inc. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
  19. "El dueño del City sueña con tener a Maradona de presidente y a Messi de estrella". Sport (in Spanish). Grupo Zeta. 3 March 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  20. "Lionel Messi: Club Statement". Manchester City F.C. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  21. "Portsmouth agree to takeover bid". BBC Sport. 27 May 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  22. Cross, Jordan (13 July 2009). "Pompey takeover: due diligence at an end". The News. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  23. "Sulaiman Al Fahim Becomes Pompey Chairman". Portsmouth FC. 21 July 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  24. "Portsmouth edge closer to buy-out". BBC Sport. 29 July 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  25. "Sulaiman Al Fahim announces ownership of Pompey". The News. 26 August 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  26. "Portsmouth owner 'faces surgery'". BBC Sport. 2 October 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  27. "Saudi completes Pompey takeover". BBC Sport. 6 October 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  28. ^ Basneed, Mohammed (16 October 2009). "Q&A with Former Portsmouth Owner Sulaiman al Fahim". Asharq Al-Awsat. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  29. "EXCLUSIVE: 'I sold Portsmouth for zero pounds' - Al Fahim". Arabian Business. 6 October 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
  30. "IIMSAM appoints H.E. Dr. Sulaiman Al Fahim of the United Arab Emirates as its Goodwill Ambassador in support of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals" (PDF). IISAM. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  31. "Portsmouth owner Sulaiman Al Fahim: Is he all that he seems?". Daily Mail. 2 October 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2009.

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