{{Infobox person | name = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = 1952 | birth_place = [[Saudi Arabia]] | death_date = December 24, 2002 (aged 50) | death_place = [[Cairo, Egypt]] }}
'''Mohammed al Fassi''' ({{Langx|ar|محمد الفاسي}}; 1952 – Dec. 24, 2002), at times referred to as Prince al Fassi, was a [[Moroccan people|Moroccan]]/[[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]] businessman related by marriage to the [[Saudi royal family]].<ref name=NYTimes>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/05/world/mohammed-al-fassi-50-upset-beverly-hills-over-house.html | title=Mohammed al-Fassi, 50; Upset Beverly Hills Over House | work=New York Times | date=January 5, 2003 | accessdate=24 October 2013}}</ref> His sister was married to Prince [[Turki II bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud|Turki bin Abdul Aziz]], one of the brothers of Saudi King [[Fahd of Saudi Arabia|Fahd al Saud]].<ref name=Tele/>
Al Fassi's notoriety stems largely from his 1978 purchase for $2.4 million<ref name="Tele" /> of the 38-room white-stucco [[Max Whittier|Whittier Mansion]] on [[Sunset Boulevard]], [[Beverly Hills]], which he had painted an unpopular shade of green. He also had painted the publicly visible statues around the house in flesh tones, with pubic hair painted black,<ref name=NYTimes/> raising the ire of many of his neighbors.<ref name=Tele/><ref>[[Ruth Ryon]], [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-06-02-re-15215-story.html Article in LA Times], June 2, 1985</ref> In 1979 the mansion was used as a filming location for ''[[The Jerk]]'' starring [[Steve Martin]].<ref>Frank W. Martin,[http://people.com/archive/cover-story-the-jerk-made-detractors-eat-crow-vol-13-no-3/ Article in "People" Jan 1980]</ref> Within two years of its purchase, just after midnight on January 2, 1981, the house was completely destroyed by a fire which was set by burglars.<ref name=NYTimes/> In 2010, the house was replaced by two new buildings.<ref name=Tele>{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1418179/Mohammed-al-Fassi.html | title=Mohammed al-Fassi | work=The Telegraph | date=8 Jan 2003 | accessdate=24 October 2013}}</ref>
Al Fassi soon relocated to [[Miami]], joining other members of the Saudi royal family already there, and already provoking notoriety with helicopter commuting and large and unusual charitable contributions. Among his exploits there were disputes over fencing he erected on city property, the hiring of city police officers to serve as security guards, a lawsuit from a contractor for unpaid bills, and a dust-up over a proposed Big Ben-style clock to be built on [[Star Island (Miami Beach)|Star Island]] in [[Biscayne Bay]].<ref>Gregory Jaynes, [https://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/27/us/royal-saudi-family-in-miami-shows-it-has-a-gift-for-giving.html?pagewanted=all Article in New York Times], May 27, 1982</ref>
Al Fassi had mixed success as an animal lover; he was known to have adopted scores of stray cats, and to have purchased live birds, fish, and even lobsters in order to set them free, but he was also charged with animal cruelty when investigators from the Greater Miami Humane Society found evidence of neglect.<ref name=Tele/><ref>Noaki Schwartz, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120510100323/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-01-03/news/0301030309_1_al-fassi-sheik-saudi-arabia Article in Broward County Sun-Sentinel] Jan. 3, 2003</ref>
In 1991 Al Fassi was arrested in [[Jordan]] and hastily extradited to Saudi Arabia, where he was held without charges until his release to house arrest. His arrest stemmed from his having taken the side of Iraq in the [[Persian Gulf War]]. He made broadcasts from [[Baghdad]] denouncing Saudi Arabia for its participation in the war, for its human rights policies, and calling for democracy.<ref>Dennis McLellan,[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-dec-31-me-sheik31-story.html Article in LA Times], Dec 21, 2002</ref>
Al Fassi died Dec. 24, 2002 in Cairo. According to [[Marvin Mitchelson]], the divorce lawyer for his first wife, Sheika Dena al Fassi, he died of an infected hernia, and was survived by four grown children.<ref name="NYTimes" />
== References == {{Reflist}} *[http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20084889,00.html „Tales from An Arabian Nightmare“] by William McWhirter; May 2, 1983 at www.people.com
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fassi, Mohammed Al}} [[Category:1952 births]] [[Category:2002 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century Saudi Arabian businesspeople]]