The House of Al-Thani, Qatar’s governing royal family, owns a lot of real estate in London. It’s said that they own more than King Charles III. The family owns about 1.8 million square feet of property worth about £2.4 billion. They are now a major player in the city’s premium real estate and commercial sectors.
The Al-Thani family’s real estate empire is mostly in Northwestern Mayfair, which is known as “Little Doha” since they possess so many buildings there. Reports say they own real estate in a quarter of the neighborhood, which includes some of the most expensive private properties in the UK. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar and head of the family, is believed to own £1.6 billion in real estate alone.
The power of the Qatari royal family goes far beyond their own homes. They own big parts of some of London’s most iconic businesses and landmarks through its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), and other private interests. The QIA bought the famous department store Harrods in 2010 as part of their properties. They also control 95% of The Shard, which is the tallest structure in Western Europe, and share ownership of Canary Wharf, a big financial center.
The family also owns 20% of Heathrow Airport and 14.3% of Sainsbury’s, which is one of the UK’s biggest grocery companies. Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al-Thani, a member of the royal family, is said to be a director for Maybourne Hotels, which runs some of London’s most premium hotels, like The Berkeley, The Connaught, and Claridge’s.
The British Royal Family, led by King Charles, owns many famous palaces, such as Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace. However, these are not private properties. The king holds them on behalf of the nation, which is different from the House of Al-Thani’s huge private real estate business.