Nizam Mahbub Ali Khan:  The sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Mahbub Ali Khan ascended the throne of the richest and most powerful Hyderabad state in 1869. Many stories are told about him. Nizam Mahbub Ali liked good things in his personal life. Mir Mahbub Ali Khan was very influenced by Western culture. He also received education in the Western style. Mir Mahbub Ali Khan liked French fashion. Because at that time French fashion was famous all over the world. Mir Mahbub Ali Khan used to import his socks from France. But he had a strange habit, he used to throw away the socks after wearing them once. 

Mir Mehboob Ali Khan's right hand man was his servant, an Armenian named Albert Abid. Famous Hyderabadi historian DF Karaka has written, "Every time Mehboob Ali Khan unbuttoned or changed clothes, Abid was present there. He had to help the Nizam. He would then handle and look after the Nizam's clothes, shoes, watches, jewellery and other belongings." 

The servant opened a departmental store
because the Nizam never wore his socks twice, so Abid took full advantage of this. He would either take it himself or sell it to the Nizam after a few days. Albert Abid earned so much money by cheating the Nizam that he opened a big departmental store in Hyderabad. This departmental store was known as 'Abid'. Now it is not a departmental store, but the name of this place in Hyderabad is definitely Abid Square.

Apart from taking commission from the guests,
Albert Abid also charged a hefty commission for introducing any merchant to the Nizam. The protocol was that the Nizam would utter only one word when the items were presented to him – either ' liked ' (accepted) or ' disliked ' (rejected). The items accepted would be purchased regardless of the price, while the ones rejected would not be charged.

The servant adopted this method
According to the book 'Days of the Beloved' written by Harriet Ronken Lynton and Mohini Rajan, “The servant of the Nizam noticed his luxurious habit and started collecting discarded socks. Eventually, when he had accumulated a sufficient number of socks, he tried to sell them. However, they did not sell in the market due to their small size. To solve this problem, the servant dry-cleaned the socks and re-labeled them as new. Interestingly, the servant then sold the socks back to the Nizam. This clever move made the servant a millionaire, all because of the Nizam's love for French fashion.”

When the sixth Nizam
of Hyderabad Mir Mehboob Ali Khan ascended the throne, he was only two years and seven months old. After the death of his father, he was hastily made the sixth Nizam of the Asaf Jahi dynasty on 5 February 1869. Since he was not an adult and was also not in a position to handle the affairs of the state, the British government constituted a regency council, which used to look after the work of the government. When Mehboob Ali turned 18, the work of the state was handed over to him. The Viceroy of the British Government Lord Ripon himself went to Hyderabad to attend his coronation. Mir Mehboob Ali Khan remained the ruler of Hyderabad till 1911.