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April 10, 2026
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"Naguib Sawiris Good times are not the happiness of money, but rather the happiness of the heart with certainty."
"Sawiris and the October 6 War, which represents a memory that Egyptians celebrate and is not a victory without God."
"For all of us who have been fortunate enough to make capital, we can’t take it with us in any case, so let’s act responsibly with it. Let’s put something back in."
"The first rule of luck in business is that you should persevere in doing the right thing. Opportunities will come your way if you do."
"If you want to build a major firm, you cannot do it by having a modest vision."
"They are the main two. I don't think the Queen is important. The Duke of Edinburgh runs the country behind the scenes; he is the actual head of the Royal Family."
"I am not talking to you, you are bloody idiot, you are part of the establishment, you work for MI6."
"[He] did more good in the world than all his critics rolled together. [...] And I'm very sorry that he's dead because he was a life-enhancing figure and he tremendously supported this country. He believed in it."
"The fact is that if you talk to the people who actually knew him, who worked for him, who were his customers, they have a completely different view from people who sit in ivory towers and take pot shots at him."
"Fayed did not want the facts of his background and his take-over of Harrods to come out. He bribed politicians to try to ensure a cover-up. When that failed, and the damning DTI report was finally published, Fayed became angry because his bribes had not worked."
"I love Britain. . . Ethics and morals count in Britain like nowhere else in the world."
"When Francesca Bettermann was hired, she had to take an H.I.V. test—women working close to the chairman had to undergo full internal exams and be grilled on their entire gynecological histories—and her handwriting was analyzed."
"According to former employees, Fayed regularly walked the store [Harrods] on the lookout for young, attractive women to work in his office. Some were asked to go to Paris with him. Good-looking women were given gifts and cash bonuses almost before they understood that they were being compromised. "Come to Papa," he would say. "Give Papa a hug." Those who rebuffed him would often be subjected to crude, humiliating comments about their appearance or dress. A dozen ex-employees I spoke with said that Fayed would chase secretaries around the office and sometimes try to stuff money down women's blouses."
"For evidence of his vengefulness, look no further than his exposure of Neil Hamilton and the other MPs embroiled in the cash-for-questions scandal, and his subsequent pursuit of Jonathan Aitken. This was not a principled stand against corruption, for he was the self-confessed corrupter. It was, rather, an act of straightforward revenge, during which it became plain that he had kept all the necessary documentation to prove his allegations."
"[In 1997, Porter was the UK editor of Vanity Fair] Our concern was that if we settled, the evidence about his [Mohamed Al-Fayed's] abuse and surveillance would never be available to her. So it was vital that she understood that all Fayed’s properties were wired for audio and video, and that she could never be sure of having a private conversation on his premises, let alone being able to undress without being watched. Through intermediaries, we made our fears known. Diana's friend Rosa Monckton and her husband Dominic Lawson also repeatedly warned Diana. I have no idea whether she paid attention. By the end of July 1997, no agreement was reached."
"All these matters mean, you may think, that Mr al-Fayed's appreciation of what is fact and what is fiction and what is truth and what is fantasy is warped."
"[On religion] When we die, our souls still live. If you are a gangster or a bastard or a crook your soul inhabits a donkey or something terrible."
"[On wanting to become Britain's PM] If I have British passport - why not? This is my country now. And I am very popular. I have a warehouse full of letters of support. You can see them."
"If this planet lasts for another thousand years people will still be talking about the terrible event we are now living through."
"I am not resting until I die. I am not doing this for myself, but for the country."
Young though he was, his radiant energy produced such an impression of absolute reliability that Hedgewar made him the first sarkaryavah, or general secretary, of the RSS.
- Gopal Mukund Huddar
Largely because of the influence of communists in London, Huddar's conversion into an enthusiastic supporter of the fight against fascism was quick and smooth. The ease with which he crossed from one worldview to another betrays the fact that he had not properly understood the world he had grown in.
Huddar would have been 101 now had he been alive. But then centenaries are not celebrated only to register how old so and so would have been and when. They are usually celebrated to explore how much poorer our lives are without them. Maharashtrian public life is poorer without him. It is poorer for not having made the effort to recall an extraordinary life.
I regret I was not there to listen to Balaji Huddar's speech [...] No matter how many times you listen to him, his speeches are so delightful that you feel like listening to them again and again.
By the time he came out of Franco's prison, Huddar had relinquished many of his old ideas. He displayed a worldview completely different from that of the RSS, even though he continued to remain deferential to Hedgewar and maintained a personal relationship with him.