David Shamoon dead

DAVID Shamoon, the Iraqi born entrepreneur credited with revitalising the Marbella Club Hotel in the 90s, died at his home in Marbella on Sunday. The 82-year-old had been suffering from pneumonia.

In 1993 Shamoon headed a group of investors that brought the emblematic but ailing Marbella Club Hotel and its sister Hotel Puente Romano.

Over the next few years he invested over €40 million in the hotel, reestablishing it as one of the leading hotels in Europe, opening the Marbella Club Golf Resort . Shamoon also coaxed back Count Rudi von Schonberg, a legendary figure at the hotel since the 50s, who had resigned in 1990 over the introduction of topless sunbathing.

Shamoon’s body was flown to London on Monday, where he will be buried according to Jewish tradition.