The leader of the United Arab Emirates, who recently paid a monthlong visit to the Mayo Medical Center in Rochester, Minn., for neck surgery, also boosted the Twin Cities' economy when his wife and her entourage went shopping.
Witnesses said they filled trucks with gold-fringed damask tablecloths, sofas, mirrors, expensive perfumes, toys from Toys "R" Us, gold-rimmed china ringed with an elegant band of jaguar spots, $450 velvet Christmas tree skirts, a $4,000 bed and enough designer sheets and comforters to fill, well, the palace of Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.The fruits of their shopping spree filled 18 22-foot trucks, said Dennis Broughton, manager of Clements Car and Truck Rental in Rochester, which did business with the group. The goods were loaded onto a cargo plane bound for the United Arab Emirates.
"There were a lot of rumors about them," said Broughton. "It was just a rumor that they bought Cadillacs. I didn't see any Cadillacs."
Broughton confirmed they did buy two pickups and two 30-foot motor homes. He said the vehicles were flown out on a separate Russian cargo plane.
Teri Hjermstad, co-owner of T.R. Christian in Edina, said: "My shelves were bare when they left."
Hjermstad, still amazed by the sudden shopping spree that almost cleaned out her store a week ago, said: "We get celebrities and sports personalities, but we've never had a royal family before."
Zayed, 78, checked into Mayo on Sept. 25. The president was accompanied by his wife, Sheika Fatima, and an entourage of about 140. The family was accompanied by bodyguards and even agents with the Central Intelligence Agency, said sales clerks and others who waited on them.
Zayed is one of the wealthiest men in the world. In 1993, Fortune magazine reported that he was worth $5 billion and had made his money in oil, real estate and investments.
During his visit, the entourage occupied more than 100 rooms at the Kahler and Kahler Plaza hotels in Rochester.
On Oct. 23, Zayed's plane and a cargo plane left Rochester Airport, according to an airport spokesman.
Respecting the privacy requested by the royal family, retailers who waited on the entourage would not divulge how much money they spent. But witnesses say that at least two truckloads bound for the sheik's plane left the Galleria mall with goods from Gabbert's Furniture and Design Studio, T.R. Christian and Strouds, a linen retailer.
And sales clerks said credit cards were not used.
The Galleria, which is filled with specialty stores that traffic in chic sundries, was a big hit. At Gabberts, the sheika herself made an appearance to help pick out sofas, lighting, mirrors and accessories. The sheika's tastes tended toward contemporary, said Pam Nicholls, a sales manager who said the royal family has shopped at the store in the past.
At T.R. Christian, the sheika passed right by the Baccarat, St. Louis and assorted European-made crystal and china to zero in on America-made or American-designed wares.