Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Tuesday, Aug 26, 2025

The Saudi tycoon at the centre of a UK "honours for bribe" scandal (as if there is anything new in the "honours" business)

The Saudi tycoon at the centre of a UK "honours for bribe" scandal (as if there is anything new in the "honours" business)

Businessman and philanthropist Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz received CBE from Prince Charles in 2016
The son of one of Saudi Arabia’s richest men, Dr Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz, has hardly any information listed about him on his charity’s website, but has the honour of a wood, a fountain, a garden and a building named after him among some of Britain’s oldest and most prestigious buildings.

The 51-year-old businessman and philanthropist has donated generously to Oxbridge colleges, as well as royal mansions Dumfries House and the Castle of Mey. The website for the Mahfouz Foundation, which he founded in 2012, shows simply a photo of Mahfouz, alongside his full name and list of honorifics.

Given an honorary CBE by Prince Charles in a private ceremony in 2016, the businessman’s aides began contacting the Prince of Wales in 2011 regarding a potential honour, according to the Sunday Times. Mahfouz had been advised that securing honorary roles and awards would help his attempt to secure British citizenship or residency through a “golden visa”, in the tier 1 investor scheme which awards residency in exchange for investing £2m.

Described as having a “strong interest in British culture”, Mahfouz launched a charity “to promote and advance the education of the public in the United Kingdom in the culture, history, language, literature and institutions of the Middle East”, according to Charity Commission listings.

His family fortune was made through hotels, property and manufacturing. Mahfouz is the executive officer of the Saudi-based Marei bin Mahfouz Group, founded by his father Sheikh Marei Mubarak Mahfouz bin Mahfouz.

As well as the Mahfouz Fountain and Garden at Dumfries House, the businessman boasts a forest to the east of the Castle of Mey, the Queen Mother’s former residence, Mahfouz Wood. There are also benches sporting the names of Mahfouz, his father and four brothers around the castle’s gardens after a donation to the charitable trust.

After donations to Pembroke College, Oxford, which resulted in the Mahfouz Building and Garden, he was elected a fellow of the college in 2013 “as a record of his generosity”, according to the college record. Prince Michael of Kent, the Mahfouz Foundation’s patron, awarded a cheque to the chancellor of the college on behalf of the Mahfouz Foundation. According to the Sunday Times, the college wrote a letter of support for Mahfouz’s CBE.

Mahfouz was also made the inaugural Bredon fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge in July 2013, after what the college described as a “munificent donation”.

Mahfouz is also the vice-president of the British Forces Foundation, whose patron is Prince Charles.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
×