Foreign influencers in southern Spain
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Jennie Rhodes
Marbella
Friday, 1 November 2024, 11:40
Bulevar Ashmawi runs from north of the A7 motorway as it passes Marbella, goes over the motorway and connects to the old A340 coastal road near to the town's famous golden mile. In fact it was named in honour of Sheikh Mohamed Ashmawi whose palace was situated on the iconic strip.
The Saudi sheikh, who was born in 1935, chose Marbella for one of his residencies in 1981, at the height of the town's jetset era, when the Costa del Sol town was attracting the rich and famous from across the globe to its fashionable hotels and beach clubs.
The Saudi businessman not only owned numerous properties in Marbella, but also in Egypt, Ivory Coast and Tangier. He was the official dealer for Rolls-Royce in Saudi Arabia and owned a high-end car business in San Pedro.
He embodied opulence and for four decades was considered one of the Costa del Sol's best ambassadors in the Arabic-speaking world.
Mohamed Ashmawi died in May 2019 and in September of the same year a monument was erected in the town in honour of his influential role in Marbella's social life during the 1990s and for having promoted the town.
On his death, Ahmed Ashmawi, Mohamed's eldest son, inherited his father's empire. However, Ahmed died in September 2021 in Marbella after a long illness.
Ashmawi hit the headlines again in 2022 when a megayacht that had belonged to him during his time in Marbella ran aground off Motril in Granada province, by now in the hands of a French man who abandoned it when it got into difficulty.
The Neeveen, as the yacht was called, was named after the sheikh's daughter and for years it was one of the attractions of Puerto Banús, where it was moored. The parties held on the yacht in the 1990s were legendary and famous names in the world of politics and show business are said to have attended them.
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