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How does Qatar’s royal family spend its US$335 billion net worth? The House of Thani, who banned alcohol at the World Cup, splurges on a VIP airline, yachts and even football club Paris Saint-Germain

STORYDiem Nguyen Le
Qatar’s royal family is one of the wealthiest surviving dynasties in the world. Photos: @SilverbridgeLondon/Facebook, Getty Images
Qatar’s royal family is one of the wealthiest surviving dynasties in the world. Photos: @SilverbridgeLondon/Facebook, Getty Images
Royalty

  • The Doha Royal Palace cost US$1 billion to build and the emir also dabbled in art collecting, buying pieces by Andy Warhol and Cézanne
  • The royal family owns The Katara – one of the most expensive yachts in the world – super cars like Bugattis and Lamborghinis, an exclusive airline and football clubs like Paris Saint-Germain

All eyes are following the ball at the Fifa World Cup 2022 in Qatar at the moment.

The small country in the Middle East was selected to host of the championship in 2010, thanks in part to the efforts of the royal family, the House of Thani. It reportedly spent US$300 billion on infrastructure and stadiums in 12 years to prepare for its World Cup dream, the most expensive of its kind ever, according to Bloomberg.

The Qatari royal family hasn’t been in the best books though. It demanded a total ban on the sale of alcohol at World Cup stadiums just hours before the tournament began, according to Daily Star. The preparations before the event also prompted plenty of scrutiny due to human rights abuses.
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A computer-generated image of the Lusail Stadium for the World Cup 2022, which can seat up to 80,000. Photo: AFP
A computer-generated image of the Lusail Stadium for the World Cup 2022, which can seat up to 80,000. Photo: AFP
Headed by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar is known as one of the wealthiest surviving dynasties in the world. With about 8,000 members, the family has a total net worth of about US$335 billion from multiple cash flows besides rich natural resources, including investments in properties like London’s Shard skyscraper, Olympic Village, Harrods department store and New York’s Empire State Building, and stakes in Barclays Bank, British Airways and automobile company Volkswagen.

So how does the family spend its mega fortune?

Golden palaces, of course, and three London properties

Former British Prime Minister David Cameron meets with the Crown Prince of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, at the Royal Palace in Doha, Qatar. Photo: Getty Images
Former British Prime Minister David Cameron meets with the Crown Prince of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, at the Royal Palace in Doha, Qatar. Photo: Getty Images

Qatar’s royal family lives in the Doha Royal Palace, which is covered in gold, no less. It consists of 15 different palaces and a car park for over 500 cars, costing about US$1 billion to build, Traveler’s Top estimated.

In 2019, the emir also built another white palace in Oman that consists of similar materials used for the Doha Royal Palace.

Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned’s – one of the three wives of the former emir – house in Cornwall Terrace, Regent’s Park, London. Photo: @SilverbridgeLondon/Facebook
Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned’s – one of the three wives of the former emir – house in Cornwall Terrace, Regent’s Park, London. Photo: @SilverbridgeLondon/Facebook

On top of that, in 2013, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned – one of the three wives of the former emir – bought three houses in Cornwall Terrace in Regent’s Park, London for some US$140 million, according to British media. The plan is to convert them all into a super mansion with 17 bedrooms, 14 lounges, a cinema, a juice bar and a swimming pool, per BBC.

Super yachts