By most standards, Qatar is a little nation—about the size of Connecticut—with a population that could easily fit inside one large American city. However, the family that has ruled it since the nineteenth century has amassed a wealth that has little to do with the actual size of the country. With resources that most nations of any size would find difficult to match, the Al Thani dynasty is one of the world’s most wealthy royal families.
Depending on how you take into consideration the overlap between governmental assets and private family holdings, estimates of the family’s overall net worth vary greatly, ranging from roughly $200 billion to over $335 billion. There is a significant and deliberate overlap. The Qatar Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund that oversees more than $500 billion in international assets, receives natural gas and oil income from Qatar through state-owned businesses. It is difficult to distinguish between what belongs to the state and what belongs to the family in Qatar since those categories have historically been entwined in ways that are typical of Gulf monarchy.
With holdings in major European banks, upscale hotel chains, London real estate, US technology businesses, and agricultural land spread across many continents, the QIA’s portfolio is truly global in scope. You may come across buildings and blocks that are QIA-owned while strolling around specific neighborhoods in Paris or London without being able to tell. The fund has been operating covertly and deliberately for so long that its presence is now ingrained in the financial architecture of the industrialized nations.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the current Emir, is thought to have a personal net worth of up to $2 billion. While this amount may seem significant on its own, it is a small portion of the family’s total wealth. Prior to his resignation in 2013, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani held the positions of Foreign Minister and Prime Minister. His private investments, especially in European real estate at the top of the market, have garnered increased public attention. He is one of the family members whose documented acquisitions best demonstrate his wealth.
Natural gas is the cornerstone of it all. The North Field, one of the world’s largest single gas fields, contains the third-largest proven natural gas reserves in the world. The sovereign wealth fund, the construction of infrastructure, and the personal fortunes of senior family members were all made possible by the monetization of that resource, especially through the export of liquefied natural gas, which elevated Qatar to the status of a major worldwide supplier during the 2000s and 2010s. As energy markets change, it’s possible that oil and gas revenues could see longer-term pressure, but for the time being, the inflows are still substantial.
