Mohammed Al Fayed has sold London department store Harrods to the Qatari royal family's investment company for a reported £1.5bn ($2.3bn).
The Egypt-born tycoon acquired the business in Knightsbridge following a £615m takeover in 1985.
Ken Costa, an adviser to the deal with Qatar Holdings, said Mr Al Fayed was retiring "to spend more time with his children and grandchildren".
He will continue to promote the store in the role of honorary chairman.
But Mr Al Fayed will not be involved in running the company on a day-to-day basis.
HARRODS
The store has over one million square feet (90,000 sq m) of selling space and 330 departments
The Harrods motto is Omnia Omnibus Ubique - All Things for All People, Everywhere
It was established in 1849
15 million people shop there each year
History of Harrods department store
The sale, signed in the early hours of 8 May, will include all parts of the Harrods group, including Harrods Estates and a charter aircraft service.
Qatar Holdings is the investment arm of the emirate's sovereign wealth fund, Qatar Investment Authority.
Although it failed in bid for Sainsbury's in 2007, it is the third-largest shareholder in car-maker VW and has stake in Porsche.
Its chairman, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, who is also Qatar's prime minister, said Harrods would add "much value" to its portfolio of investments and generate "good and stable returns as a business".
The Egypt-born tycoon acquired the business in Knightsbridge following a £615m takeover in 1985.
Ken Costa, an adviser to the deal with Qatar Holdings, said Mr Al Fayed was retiring "to spend more time with his children and grandchildren".
He will continue to promote the store in the role of honorary chairman.
But Mr Al Fayed will not be involved in running the company on a day-to-day basis.
HARRODS
The store has over one million square feet (90,000 sq m) of selling space and 330 departments
The Harrods motto is Omnia Omnibus Ubique - All Things for All People, Everywhere
It was established in 1849
15 million people shop there each year
History of Harrods department store
The sale, signed in the early hours of 8 May, will include all parts of the Harrods group, including Harrods Estates and a charter aircraft service.
Qatar Holdings is the investment arm of the emirate's sovereign wealth fund, Qatar Investment Authority.
Although it failed in bid for Sainsbury's in 2007, it is the third-largest shareholder in car-maker VW and has stake in Porsche.
Its chairman, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, who is also Qatar's prime minister, said Harrods would add "much value" to its portfolio of investments and generate "good and stable returns as a business".
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