Mohammed al Fassi (; 1952 – Dec. 24, 2002), at times referred to as Prince al Fassi, was a Moroccan/ Saudi businessman related by marriage to the

Saudi royal family The House of Saud ( ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi State, (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling fa ...

. His sister was married to Prince Turki bin Abdul Aziz, one of the brothers of Saudi King Fahd al Saud. Al Fassi's notoriety stems largely from his 1978 purchase for $2.4 million of the 38-room white-stucco

Whittier Mansion Whittier Mansion is a historic building that has served as a private residence, the West Coast headquarters of the Nazi Party, and has been occupied by The California Historical Society. It is located at 2090 Jackson Street in the Pacific Hei ...

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

, 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, raising the ire of many of his neighbors. In 1979 the mansion was used as a filming location for ''

The Jerk ''The Jerk'' is a 1979 American comedy film directed by Carl Reiner and written by Steve Martin, Carl Gottlieb, and Michael Elias (from a story by Martin and Gottlieb). This was Martin's first starring role in a feature film. The film also f ...

'' starring

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...

. 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. In 2010, the house was replaced by two new buildings. Al Fassi soon relocated to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, 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 in

Biscayne Bay Biscayne Bay is a lagoon with characteristics of an estuary located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida. The northern end of the lagoon is surrounded by the densely developed heart of the Miami metropolitan area while the southern end is large ...

. 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. In 1991 Al Fassi was arrested in

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

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 , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. He made broadcasts from

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

denouncing Saudi Arabia for its participation in the war, for its human rights policies, and calling for democracy.Dennis McLella
Article in LA Times
Dec 21, 2002 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.

References

„Tales from An Arabian Nightmare“
by William McWhirter; May 2, 1983 at www.people.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Fassi, Mohammed Al 1952 births 2002 deaths 20th-century Saudi Arabian businesspeople