Hard Rock investor finds his brother could be bad for business
Hafan bin Laden, a brother of the most wanted man in the world, is an owner of Hard Rock Café‚ Middle East, a franchise of the American chain of music-themed restaurants, it emerged this week. The company's headquarters is in Beirut, Lebanon.
Hafan bin Laden - described by executive director Armand Simonian as "an extremely nice person" - is one of a group of investors that owns six Hard Rock Cafés: in Beirut; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Bahrain; Cairo, and Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt; and Ankara, Turkey.
Hard Rock Café Middle East's territory also includes Cyprus and Greece, where restaurants are due to open next year.
Simonian said that business was down because of the fall in foreign tourist numbers and added: "We hope it will be short-lived. If there's anybody, apart from the military and arms manufacturers, who can tell you he's not going to suffer, then he's either a fool or he needs to wake up."