Bondi massacre hero Ahmed al-Ahmed has invested his new-found millions in gold bullion just moments after he was given expert advice in Sydney’s financial heartland.
Lunchtime workers gave him a rock star welcome as he walked through the CBD with his arm in a black sling, making him instantly recognisable to the strangers calling out and waving to him.
Mr al-Ahmed, 44, is still undergoing treatment on his arm and shoulder after heroically disarming Islamic terrorist Sajid Akram, 50, before allegedly being shot by Akram’s son Naveed, 24, on December 14.
After video of his bravery went viral around the world, well-wishers flooded a GoFundMe appeal in his name to donate more than $2.65million to him.
On Thursday, he travelled into Sydney city centre for some top-level financial advice on how best to invest his fortune as he tries to return to normal life since becoming world-famous.
Arriving for a 12.30pm appointment, he took the lift to the upper floor offices occupied by lawyers and financial advisers in the skyscraper at 25 Martin Place.
The tobacco shop owner, who has met world leaders, visited the US and been interviewed by international media in the wake of his heroism, spent more than two hours inside.
He emerged around 2.40pm and immediately made a beeline for the nearby ABC Bullion gold dealer, which recently had queues down the street as gold prices soared.
Mr al-Ahmed was given the VIP treatment by bullion bosses, skipping the line of prospective gold buyers, and ushered upstairs to the gold trader’s private rooms.
He exited just over half an hour later at 3.21pm with a white-shirted security guard holding up an umbrella in the teeming afternoon rain to accompany Ahmed.
He appeared to have three 1kg gold bars inside a white gift bag, gripped in his hand. He confirmed it was gold to the Daily Mail, but declined to reveal the exact amount.
ABC Bullion sells 1kg gold bars – 11.5cm long by 5.1cm wide, about the size of an old Nokia mobile phone – for $246,119.20 each. Three would be valued around $750,000
Dressed casually in a t-shirt and jeans, he seemed relaxed while holding his bag of treasure and paused to chat with strangers before heading into the ANZ Bank HQ.
Mr al-Ahmed was again escorted upstairs into the private executive area where he met with a female bank employee while resting his bag of gold on a desk.
After signing paperwork, Mr al-Ahmed left the bank where he was again greeted on the street by well-wishers who recognised him.
He told the Daily Mail that he was spending his GoFundMe millions on his family and on therapy and possible future surgery on his left shoulder.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘It’s my money – I can’t work at the moment.’
Although recent international media reports said he had sold his Sutherland tobacco shop, the business is currently still registered in his name with ASIC.
He said that doctors had inserted metal plates in his shoulder joint, but he was still having problems with his left hand.
As part of his physiotherapy treatment, he is using a foam ball to improve the mobility and gripping power of his fingers, he told the Daily Mail.
But almost three months after being shot, he still has to take painkillers and suffers from interrupted sleep.
Mr al-Ahmed revealed surgeons have suggested they may have to graft a nerve from his leg to his shoulder in coming months, if his arm recovery stalls.
The father of two daughters, aged three and six, lives in Western Sydney with his parents, who were visiting from Syria when the massacre occurred.
Sajid Akram was shot dead by police during the Islamic State-inspired attack on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration.
Naveed Akram was also shot by police but survived, and now faces 59 charges, including 15 of murder for the deaths of 11 men, four women and a child.
The victims ranged in age from 10-year-old Matilda to 87-year-old Alex Kleytman, and most had connections to the Chabad Russian Jewish synagogue.
Mr al-Ahmed was shot five times in the shoulder and was taken to St George Hospital, where he was still recovering from surgery when video footage of his bear-hug crash- tackle takedown of the gunman flashed around the world.
Several appeals in the name of Mr al-Ahmed or just ‘Bondi hero’ have subsequently popped up on the GoFundMe site but have only raised between $0 and $210.
The genuine GoFundMe, which to date has raised $2,657,744, states: ‘In a moment of chaos and danger, Ahmed al-Ahmed stepped forward without hesitation.
‘His actions were selfless, instinctive, and undeniably heroic, taken without regard for his own safety … (and) prevented the loss of countless more lives.’
Jewish leaders in Australia and New York have since personally thanked Mr al-Ahmed, who is Muslim.