Mapping Qatar’s $400 Billion Footprint in the United States

Foreword

By Jonathan Schanzer

Why has a country of just 330,000 citizens that is half the size of New Jersey and a leading patron of the Muslim Brotherhood plowed $400 billion dollars into the United States? This amounts to approximately $1.2 million per Qatari citizen — an enormous sum.

FDD’s Natalie Ecanow has labored for more than a year, collecting the receipts for these Qatari transactions, most of which have taken place over the past decade. But as Natalie notes, $400 billion is a lowball estimate. She erred on the side of caution. If you take the word of Qatari government estimates or even the White House, the total number may exceed $1.2 trillion.

Some Americans may welcome the generosity of the Qatari regime. After all, one could argue that a great many of these investments — spanning energy, defense, biotech and other important sectors — serve to benefit the U.S. economy and U.S. citizens. One could also argue that Qatar, like Japan, Canada, or other countries that sink billions in the United States, simply seeks return on investment.

But Qatar is different. There are more than a few reasons to question the largesse of the Qatari government. At the end of the day, Qatar is ruled by an Islamist, autocratic regime; Freedom House consistently ranks the country as “Not Free” in its annual Freedom in the World survey.¹ And Doha’s failure to guarantee the rights of its citizens is not the biggest problem. Rather, it is the country’s tendency to support jihadi causes in the Middle East that raises significantly more concern. The country’s horrific track record in this regard distinguishes Qatar from other Gulf states that spread their wealth in America.

Though the U.S. government has delineated Qatar as a “Major Non-NATO Ally” and has positioned its Combined Air Operations Center at the Al-Udeid base in Qatar, this regime may qualify as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism.” The regime has sheltered Al-Qaeda.² It was a patron for the Taliban before the group recaptured Afghanistan, ending America’s intervention there.³ The government is a longstanding patron of Hamas, the terrorist group that plunged the Middle East into violence on October 7, 2023.⁴ Finally, it is the primary patron of the Muslim Brotherhood, a global network of violent and nonviolent Islamist groups that seek the downfall of the West.⁵ Several branches of this network have recently been sanctioned by the U.S. government.

Beyond that, the regime in Qatar has been embroiled in other scandals that should give Americans pause. Qatar bribed its way to hosting the World Cup in 2022. Later that year, the scandal known as “Qatargate” rocked the European Union when Qatari bribes to European parliamentarians were exposed.⁶ The bribes were reportedly designed to buy influence to rehabilitate Qatar’s image amid reports that more than 6,500 migrant workers had died during the construction of the country’s World Cup stadiums.⁷

To whitewash these and other offenses, the Qataris wield the Al-Jazeera Media Network, which broadcasts in multiple languages and multiple formats, to spread the regime’s messages.⁸ Al Jazeera’s U.S.-based affiliate, AJ+, has defied U.S. law for over five years by failing to register as a foreign agent.⁹

It is for these reasons, and perhaps others, that Qatar’s massive investments in the United States should be scrutinized. Some of these investments include naked influence-peddling — from sponsorship of the annual congressional baseball game to annual White House correspondents’ dinner parties.¹⁰ The Qataris spend an enormous amount on lobby groups and public relations, which helps ensure that their investments continue with minimal scrutiny.

Perhaps most disturbing is the massive amount this small Islamic state has invested in American education. Qatar has half as many citizens as Washington, DC, has residents. Yet somehow, it has surpassed China as the largest foreign funder of American colleges and universities. This is baffling. It is safe to say that the regime in Doha is not a stalwart champion of traditional liberal arts education curricula. Even more disturbing: the regime is funding public K-12 schools, engaging American children in the classroom at a young age.

In an era of heightened cognitive combat, disinformation, and foreign influence, it is time for the United States government to look not just at China and Russia, but other autocratic states — and maybe democracies, too. Examining foreign capital is especially important when the numbers rise above a certain threshold. While it might be fair to quibble over what that number should be, it is safe to say that $400 billion, let alone $1.2 trillion, is probably far beyond what Americans would deem acceptable.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is a U.S. government body that scrutinizes investments by foreign governments in industries and businesses that could leave America vulnerable. It is time for CFIUS to address concerns about foreign influence in addition to national security risks.

The involvement of CFIUS need not lead to a ban on Qatari investments in the United States. To be sure, foreign direct investment (FDI) by countries of all stripes is an important way to attract wealth to the United States. But not all foreign money should be welcomed. This country is not a charity. Nor is it for sale. It is time to take a closer look at all the ways that Qatari and other foreign money may be buying influence.

The following report by FDD’s Natalie Ecanow provides a good first glimpse at Qatari dollars in America. It is certainly not the final word on the problem. But it should prompt a serious discussion. From there, one can only hope that a more serious national dialogue, followed by legislation or other government measures, can begin to tackle the problem.

America should be open to foreign direct investment, but not unwanted foreign influence. Qatar may only be one of many nondemocratic regimes seeking to buy sway in this country. Guardrails are needed now.

Introduction

If preparations proceed on schedule, the $400 million jet that Qatar gifted President Donald Trump will join the Air Force One fleet by America’s 250th birthday in July.¹¹ When Trump first accepted the proffered “palace in the sky” in May 2025, a firestorm erupted in Washington.¹² While criticism from across the aisle is to be expected, many of the president’s strongest supporters also expressed deep reservations. As a New York Sun editorial noted, “sometimes the scandal is not what is illegal but what is legal.” This gift, as the Sun observed, comes from a monarchy that has financed America’s adversaries, pointing out that, “The Framers understood that gifts from other nations are rarely animated by unalloyed generosity.”¹³ The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board expressed similar concerns about an American president being indebted to Qatari royals. “If the emir calls the White House to share his views on Iran, Israel and the region, won’t he expect the President to pick up the phone? Should voters even have to wonder?” the board asked.¹⁴

Trump defended his decision on the grounds that accepting the plane simply makes sense from a budgetary perspective. He then defended the Qataris by asserting, “They also gave $5.1 trillion worth of investment in addition to the jet.”¹⁵ It is unclear where Trump got this number, although one week earlier, the White House announced a $1.2 trillion “economic commitment” from Qatar. An official fact sheet identified $243.5 billion of deals between U.S. and Qatari firms in various stages of negotiation but did not explain how Washington and Doha will “generate” the remainder of the headline figure of $1.2 trillion.¹⁶ That same week, a lengthy analysis by The Free Press found $93.7 billion of Qatari spending in the United States — an unusual sum for a country roughly the size of Connecticut with a citizen population smaller than that of Washington, DC.¹⁷

Yet the actual amount of money that Qatar has spent, invested, and donated is at least four times higher, reaching $400 billion since 2000. This figure derives from a careful investigation of regulatory filings, business databases, lobbying disclosures, and other public sources of information. For Qatar, a country home to approximately 330,000 citizens, that sum represents approximately $1.2 million per capita. And the true figure is higher. There is a long list of investments, especially in venture capital, for which a monetary value is not publicly reported.

Qatari money touches nearly every industry in America, from defense and energy to real estate, media, and sports. Doha’s ventures have entailed a cornucopia of transactions, including investments, grants, purchases, and pledges. Thus, there is no single word or term that captures the ways in which Qatar deploys its wealth. Some of these transactions are straightforward investments that yield returns. Others, like employing lobbyists, amount to direct spending on influence. Many fall somewhere in between. Yet even a profit-driven business venture can double as a source of influence. When Doha brings capital and jobs to an American city or state, its leaders will naturally become more concerned about Qatari interests.

This relationship between business ventures and political influence takes on special importance when a foreign power is providing the funds. In each case here, the investment vehicle or grantor is either government-controlled or run by members of Qatar’s ruling family. None are independent commercial actors in the way that British Petroleum or Toyota Motors are. For that reason, it becomes especially important to examine how economic relationships may serve the political agenda of the Al-Thani ruling family, whose interests and priorities are often antithetical or even hostile to those of the United States. To be clear, this memo does not claim that any of the ventures it describes are illicit or unlawful. Nonetheless, Qatari dollars raise red flags because, as the Sun’s editorial board noted, the scandal may be what is legal.

The nexus between wealth and influence also takes on special importance because Qatar has persuaded many in Washington that it is a trustworthy partner despite its patronage of Hamas, the Taliban, and the Muslim Brotherhood.¹⁸ Similarly, Doha’s state-owned Al Jazeera Media Network amplifies Islamist propaganda for an audience of hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide. The country is also at the center of corruption probes in Europe, Israel, and Washington, and made headlines for allegedly buying hosting rights for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.¹⁹ Clearly, Doha is unafraid to punch above its weight by walking the line between licit and illicit financial activity.

Qatar’s record notwithstanding, both the Biden and Trump administrations have elevated Doha’s status. The former designated Qatar a Major Non-NATO Ally in 2022 and admitted the emirate to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program in 2024. The latter then extended U.S. security assurances to Qatar in September 2025. The two administrations share few foreign policy instincts, yet both chose to upgrade ties with Qatar rather than proceed with caution.

The United States welcomes foreign investment, which creates jobs and drives economic growth. But when an autocratic, Islamist regime with a record of bribery and terror finance sinks over a million dollars per citizen into the United States, it is worth asking why.

Defense

$84.6 billion²⁰

Qatar hosts the Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) at Al Udeid Air Base. It is the largest American military base in the region, making the U.S.-Qatar defense partnership central to the bilateral relationship writ large. Since 2003, Qatar has contributed “more than $8 billion in developing Al Udeid Air Base for use by the United States,” according to the U.S. State Department.²¹ President Donald Trump announced in May 2025 that Qatar will invest $10 billion in the base “in the coming years.”²²

Concurrently, Qatar has spent billions more purchasing American arms through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) programs. As of January 2025, the U.S. State Department reported that Qatar had over $26 billion in active FMS cases, “making Qatar the second-largest FMS partner in the world.”²³ FMS is a program whereby “the U.S. government and a foreign government or international organization enter into a government-to-government agreement,” with the U.S. government acting as an intermediary between American industry and foreign customers.²⁴ FMS transactions typically involve the sale of major weapons systems like guided missiles or advanced fighter jets. According to records from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the State Department has approved $55.9 billion in FMS packages for Qatar since 2011.²⁵ Last year, the State Department approved the sale of eight MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft to Qatar under the FMS program. Qatar is the first country in the region approved to purchase these advanced drones.²⁶ Most recently, the State Department announced on May 1 “the immediate sale” of $4 billion worth of “PATRIOT Air and Missile Defense replenishment services and related equipment” to Qatar. In its press release, the State Department noted that “an emergency exists” that warrants “waiving the Congressional review requirements” associated with FMS cases.²⁷

Records from the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls show that American companies have shipped $1.2 billion worth of arms to Qatar since 2014 through the DCS program.²⁸ DCS involves the “sale of defense articles or defense services made under a Department of State issued license by U.S. industry directly to a foreign buyer,”  and generally involve less-sensitive weapons.²⁹ The dollar value is reported in section 655 of the “Annual Report to Congress on Direct Commercial Sales Authorizations to Foreign Countries and International Organizations.” The congressionally mandated report lists the value of authorized “defense articles and services” alongside the “shipped value,” which represents “the actual shipments of those licensed transactions.” A conservative figure of $1.2 billion includes just the value of “landed” sales, meaning those that were actually shipped to Qatar.

South Carolina has emerged as a hub for Qatari defense initiatives. In 2018, Barzan Holdings, “the strategic investment arm of Qatar’s Ministry of Defense,” incorporated a subsidiary in Charleston, South Carolina, called Barzan Aeronautical (now SC Aeronautical).³⁰ Barzan Aeronautical announced plans in 2021 to spend $14.7 million on a facility for “engineering and manufacturing of technology-based unmanned aircrafts” in Johns Island, South Carolina.³¹ Qatar also funds other defense companies through Barzan Holdings and Barzan Aeronautical.³²

Energy

$24.6 billion

Energy is a major area of investment for the Qatari government. Texas, as the United States’s leading energy producer, is the primary destination for Qatari investments. The localized nature of these energy deals raises questions as to whether Qatar is accruing political influence in Texas, even if its ventures also have commercial merit. The same question could be asked of Qatar’s investments in South Carolina.

In 2019, then-U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Qatar’s minister of state of energy affairs announced a $10 billion investment in the Golden Pass liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal in Sabine Pass, Texas. Qatar Petroleum, now QatarEnergy, invested “more than $8 billion” in the LNG terminal, with ExxonMobil picking up the rest of the tab.³³ Three years later, QatarEnergy and Chevron Phillips jointly established the Golden Triangle Polymers Company in Orange, Texas. Qatar owns 49 percent of the $8.5 billion petrochemical facility project, representing a $4.2 billion investment.³⁴ Additionally, the White House noted in May 2025 that Texas-based American energy giant McDermott “has a strong partnership with Qatar Energy” that includes “seven active projects worth $8.5 billion.”³⁵

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), also drives investment in the energy sector. In 2019, an affiliate of QIA sunk approximately $550 million into Oryx Midstream Services, a “privately-held midstream crude operator” based in Texas.³⁶

In 2021, QIA invested $740 million in AVANGRID, a company that generates power for over 3 million Americans.³⁷ Moreover, filings at the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) in June 2025 show that QIA holds 18.6 million shares, or 5.5 percent, of Vistra Corp, an electricity and power-generation company in Irving, Texas. Based on the 52-week low share price at the time of writing, QIA’s stake in Vistra Corp is worth approximately $2.2 billion.³⁸ In March 2026, a consortium including QIA agreed to acquire AES, a clean energy provider based in Arlington, Virginia, for $10.7 billion. Qatar’s exact contribution is not reported.³⁹

American energy giant ConocoPhillips runs a Global Water Sustainability Center in Qatar. The center has received multiple grants from the Qatar National Research Fund, including a $700,000 grant in 2013 for a study on natural gas production methods.⁴⁰

Aviation and Infrastructure

$246 billion

Qatar has committed significant capital to infrastructure beyond the energy sector. Aviation is a major target. Qatar has initiated a reported $148.5 billion worth of Boeing orders since 2011 and signed a $79 million deal in 2018 with Tapestry Solutions, a subsidiary of Boeing that specializes in logistics services and software.⁴¹

Additionally, Doha has hired American companies to manage projects in Qatar. In 2021, the Qatar Public Works Authority awarded U.S. engineering firm Parsons Corporation a four-year, $114 million contract to improve Qatari roads and other infrastructure. The White House announced in May 2025 that Parsons had “successfully won 30 projects worth up to $97 billion dollars.”⁴² In the United States, QIA participated in a 2024 fundraising round for Transportation Equipment Network, which is “the largest full-service trailer lessor in the United States.”⁴³

Education

Higher Education

$8.9 billion

The U.S. Department of Education launched a foreign funding dashboard in January 2026 showing that Qatar has pumped $8.8 billion into the U.S. higher education system since 2001. That sum positions Qatar as the largest foreign funder of U.S. higher education, surpassing China by approximately $2 billion.⁴⁴

Section 117 of The Higher Education Act requires schools to disclose gifts and contracts from foreign sources that exceed $250,000. The schools that receive the most funding from Qatar are those with satellite campuses in Doha: Cornell University, Carnegie Mellon University, Texas A&M University, Georgetown University, Northwestern University, and Virginia Commonwealth University. Texas A&M announced in 2024 that it will close its Doha campus by 2028.⁴⁵ In March, the House Education and Workforce Committee released a report explaining that “financial incentives are a motivating factor” for universities to maintain their campuses in Qatar, and that the incentives often benefit their home campuses. Northwestern, for example, “annually transfers part of its management fee” from Qatar to its communication and journalism schools in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern and Georgetown are also “contractually required to abide by the ‘applicable laws and regulations of the State of Qatar,’” which has allowed schools to “perpetuate antisemitism without apparent consequence” and left them “struggling to uphold free speech principles.”⁴⁶

The funds disclosed to the Department of Education are only part of the story. Researchers at universities across the country receive funds from Qatari sources that they are not required to disclose. Qatar has funded projects at Northwestern University, Rutgers University, Stanford University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Washington to the tune of more than $6 million.⁴⁷ This is not an exhaustive account of Qatari-funded research projects.

K-12

$8.5 million

There is no equivalent reporting requirement for K-12 schools. Public records from a range of school districts in major cities across the country document over $8 million in support from Qatar Foundation International (QFI) since 2010. QFI is the American arm of the Qatar Foundation, which is run by the Qatari royal family. QFI primarily funds teacher trainings, Arabic language and culture programs, and student trips to Doha.⁴⁸

The $8 million figure here is likely an undercount because it reflects spending only in selected districts. Moreover, The Wall Street Journal reported that QFI gave $30.6 million to dozens of schools between 2009 and 2017.⁴⁹

Youth Programs

$3.6 million

In addition to direct funding for schools, Qatar has disbursed grants to a range of youth programs, including Boys & Girls Clubs; Learning Undefeated, which brings STEM education to underserved communities; and Break the Barriers, which provides extracurricular programming for students of all ages and abilities.⁵⁰

Lobbying and Public Relations

$295.9 million

In 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Egypt severed ties with Qatar citing a range of grievances, including its purported support for “terrorist organizations” and Al Jazeera’s incitement of extremism.⁵¹ Qatar recruited an army of lobbyists to generate support in Washington. States like Saudi Arabia already had deep benches of K Street firms on their payrolls, and the Qataris, according to former U.S. Ambassador to Qatar Patrick Theros, started “playing catch-up ball.”⁵²

All firms engaging in “political activities” or public relations on behalf of Qatar must register with the Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and periodically disclose funds they receive from, and activities they conduct on behalf of, Doha.⁵³ Funding information is typically found on two types of documents — Exhibit B, which asks for the written agent’s contract with Qatar, and supplemental statements, which are filed every six months to report money received. Only the money listed in the supplemental statements is counted in this study because those numbers represent monies received, not monies promised.

Since 2010, at least 69 firms have received approximately $235 million from Qatar. In certain cases, registered agents receive funds from intermediaries on behalf of Qatar, with both the agent and the intermediary filing FARA disclosures. The figures in this memo reflect the total amount each agent reported it received directly from Qatari principals. Agents who disclosed payments only from intermediaries are excluded from this dataset.

Barzan Aeronautical is the largest recipient of Qatari funds. The company received $95.3 million from Barzan Holdings between 2018 and 2025 to “aid in the procurement/development of airborne ISR [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] systems for the foreign principal.”⁵⁴ Barzan Aeronautical hired a DC-based law firm to “provide legal counsel, and as required government relations counsel, on commercial and export control matters.”⁵⁵ The law firm reported $28 million through the FARA process between 2018 and 2023. Qatari entities also paid multimillion-dollar sums to Portland PR; Nelson, Mullins, Riley and Scarborough; and Finn Partners.

Registered Qatari agents have engaged in a variety of activities, including promoting Qatar’s relationship with the United States, engaging congressional offices on legislation, and pushing back against accusations of labor abuses.⁵⁶

Government

$8.9 million

Qatar courts U.S. officials in ways that do not require registration under FARA. This occurs at the federal, state, and local levels. In 2020, for example, Qatar donated $5 million to the Mayor’s Fund of Los Angeles to help expand the city’s Angeleno Card program, which provided prepaid debit cards to LA residents impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Local news reported that Qatar’s gift was “the largest-ever single donation to the fund.”⁵⁷ Qatar reportedly donated an additional $25,000 to the Mayor’s Fund “to sponsor four blood drives for necessary procedures during the pandemic.”⁵⁸

In 2025, local news outlets discovered that Qatar had paid $61,930 for Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser and four of her staffers to travel to the Middle East in 2023. Qatar’s funding was legal, but the overseas trip made headlines because the mayor’s office allegedly claimed that the funding came from the DC Chamber of Commerce.⁵⁹

Bowser is just one of many American officials who have travelled abroad on Doha’s dime. These trips are often publicly reported in local papers, but the costs of the trips are not. For example, New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban made two trips to Qatar in 2023, one covered by Qatar’s Ministry of Interior and the other by the Qatari Embassy. The New York Post obtained disclosures that it said, “estimate the cost between $1,000 and $4,999 for travel, accommodations and meals but do not contain any more specifics on the trips.”⁶⁰

Doha has likewise paid for the mayors of Kansas City (MO), Tucson (AZ), Fresno (CA), Atlanta (GA), Montgomery (AL), Columbia (SC), and Rochester Hills (MI) to travel to Qatar.⁶¹ The price tag of their trips is not reported. Mayors from Dallas-Fort Worth (TX), Tampa (FL), Miami (FL), Quincy (IL), Mountain Home (ID), and New Orleans (LA) have also visited Qatar in the last five years. Reports do not specify who funded their junkets.⁶²

The same goes for members of Congress. Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Andre Carson (D-IN), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Darin LaHood (R-IL), and Bryan Steil (R-WI), are among the members who traveled to Doha on Qatar’s dime. The disclosures do not list costs.⁶³

Qatar also frequently presents gifts to U.S. officials. This is standard for some foreign governments, but federal employees must disclose gifts that exceed a minimal value. Reports from the State Department’s Office of the Chief of Protocol note over $1.3 million in gifts from Qatari officials. The largest gift is a “gold-plated mechanical bird” worth $110,000 that President Barack Obama received from Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in May 2015. First Lady Michelle Obama received the same gift in November 2015.⁶⁴

Think Tanks

$22.6 million

Think tanks that have received funds from Qatar include the Brookings Institution, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Middle East Institute, the Stimson Center, and the Wilson Center. The Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in Texas also received grants from Qatar, including $2.5 million to establish The State of Qatar Endowment for International Stem Cell Policy Research.⁶⁵ Think tanks are generally not required to publicly disclose their donors or the amounts given, but some disclose this information voluntarily. Think tanks have acknowledged over $20 million of funding from Qatar. Several additional ones name Qatari entities as donors in their annual reports, but do not share the amount. More disclosure is needed.

Real Estate

$8.9 billion

In October 2025, Qatar hosted a soiree to celebrate the opening of its new embassy building in Washington, DC.⁶⁶ The embassy is located at the former Carnegie Institution of Washington administrative building, which was designated as a National Historical Landmark in 1965.⁶⁷ Property records show that the building was sold for $65 million in 2021.⁶⁸

Qatar has amassed an extensive U.S. real estate portfolio through government organs, the royal family, and investment firms run by Qatari royals. Qatar’s properties are scattered across the United States and include some of the most recognizable properties in America: The Plaza Hotel in New York ($600 million), the St. Regis New York ($310 million), and the St. Regis San Francisco ($175 million).⁶⁹ Qatar even owns a piece of the Empire State Building through a $622 million equity investment in Empire State Realty Trust.⁷⁰

In 2023, Qatar purchased the Park Lane Hotel in New York for $623 million, ending a yearslong ordeal that saw the U.S. Justice Department seize the Park Lane while investigating one of the hotel’s financiers, Low Taek Jho, for fraud and money laundering.⁷¹ Qatar acquired the Park Lane from presidential envoy Steven Witkoff.⁷² Qatar also owns several condos across New York City, including multiple units in Trump World Tower at 845 UN Plaza.⁷³

In Washington, DC, Qatar’s real estate portfolio encompasses much more than its embassy. In 2010, Qatar sunk $650 million into CityCenterDC, becoming the majority owner of the 10-acre development in downtown Washington featuring residential buildings, office spaces, restaurants, and luxury shops.⁷⁴ Alduwaliya Asset Management, which is directed by members of Qatar’s ruling Al-Thani family, has scooped up several properties across the capital, including a Hilton Homewood Suites near the Washington DC Convention Center and a historic 19th century townhouse known as the Demonet Building.⁷⁵ Alduwaliya has purchased hundreds of millions of dollars of real estate in New York City and Boston, as well.⁷⁶

Disaster Relief

$76.2 million

Qatar has stepped in more than once to provide relief to American communities recovering from natural disasters. After Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama in 2005, Qatar established a $100 million Qatar Katrina Fund to support impacted communities.⁷⁷ The headline figure is less than $100 million because it reflects only those grants categorized as disaster relief. Some Katrina Fund disbursements funded scholarships and other programs cataloged in separate categories. Recipients of Qatar Katrina Fund grants included Habitat for Humanity ($22 million), March of Dimes ($3 million), and the Treme/Lafitte Renewal project ($2.5 million).⁷⁸

Qatar established a similar fund after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Texas in 2017. The $30 million Qatar Harvey Fund disbursed grants to a range of organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, a Houston community center, and a local church.⁷⁹ The Qatar Harvey Fund also granted $6 million to the Bob Woodruff Foundation to “support organizations providing services to the more than 400,000 post-9/11 veterans and their families in the southeast Texas areas impacted by Hurricane Harvey.”⁸⁰ Qatar granted the Bob Woodruff Foundation another $5 million in 2023 “to support veterans in Florida in their recovery from recent natural disasters,” including Hurricane Ian.⁸¹

Medicine

$517.8 million

Through its post-Katrina and post-Harvey funds, Qatar has disbursed grants to hospitals in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.⁸² Additionally, Doha has invested in a range of biotechnology companies, including: Sionna Therapeutics, which is developing treatments for cystic fibrosis; BioXCel Therapeutics, which is leveraging artificial intelligence to develop treatments for brain and nervous system disorders; PepGen Inc., which is developing therapies for neuromuscular and neurological diseases; and Perspective Therapeutics, a radiopharmaceutical company developing novel cancer treatments. Based on the 52-week-low share price at the time of writing, Qatar’s shares in each company are worth approximately $24.2 million, $2.8 million, $1.3 million, and $13.9 million respectively.⁸³ Qatar also invested $2.1 million in Argus Cognitive, a New Hampshire-based company using artificial intelligence to help diagnose and treat autism.⁸⁴

Additionally, there are a half-dozen biotechnology companies in which Qatar made early, seed-stage investments. No dollar amount is publicly available. The companies include:

• Outpace Bio — QIA participated in a $144 million financing round in 2024.⁸⁵
• Latigo Biotherapeutics — QIA participated in a $150 million financing round in 2025.⁸⁶
• Supira Medical — QIA participated in a $120 million financing round in 2025.⁸⁷
• Arbor Biotechnologies — QIA participated in a $73.9 million financing round in 2025.⁸⁸
• Neuralink — QIA participated in a $650 million financing round in 2025.⁸⁹
• Star Therapeutics — QIA participated in a $90 million financing round in 2023.⁹⁰
• Ensoma — QIA participated in a $53 million financing round in 2025.⁹¹
• OncoResponse — QIA participated in a $40 million financing round in 2018.⁹²

Sports

$207.4 million

In 2022, Qatar became the first Mideast nation to host the FIFA World Cup, a privilege secured with bribes, which two British journalists detailed meticulously.⁹³ Three weeks before the vote, for example, Qatar allegedly offered FIFA a $400 million television contract that “included an unprecedented success fee of $100m” to be deposited in a FIFA account “only if” Qatar’s bid was successful.⁹⁴ This was just the tip of the iceberg. Nevertheless, Qatar’s foray into sport continues to deepen.

In 2023, QIA purchased approximately 5 percent of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the Washington Wizards (NBA), Washington Capitals (NHL), and Washington Mystics (WNBA). The deal was worth just over $4 billion, making Qatar’s 5 percent amount to $202.5 million. Qatar increased its stake in December 2025 for an undisclosed amount.⁹⁵

In 2018, Qatar paid $100,000 to keep the DC Metro open an hour after closing so fans could catch a late-night ride home after the Capitals’s Stanley Cup playoff game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.⁹⁶ Months later, Qatar Airways announced a partnership agreement with the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center. The value of the sponsorship deal was not reported.⁹⁷

Qatar has also directed money to community sports programs. In 2021, Qatar donated $150,000 to Celebrity Sweat Cares, a nonprofit organization that provides children with access to sports and fitness gear. Qatar’s embassy announced the donation alongside a $40,000 gift to the Orange County Soccer Club (OCSC) Community Foundation to “provide soccer balls and prizes for students who complete the OCSC Virtual Soccer curriculum.”⁹⁸ Materials submitted to the Department of Justice pursuant to FARA show that the Qatari embassy sponsored “Military Appreciation Night” at an OCSC home game in July 2021.⁹⁹

A $3.3 million from the Qatar Harvey Fund also helped construct eight soccer fields intended to double as flood mitigation basins.¹⁰⁰ Most recently, the Embassy of Qatar gave $1 million to the Wounded Warrior Project “to provide adaptive sports opportunities” to veterans in Florida.¹⁰¹

In 2025, Qatar’s Government Communications Office signed a five-year strategic partnership agreement with online sports platform Fanatics. As part of the arrangement, Qatar sponsored a three-day sports festival in New York City. The value of the sponsorship is not public.¹⁰²

Media

$1 billion

A clip of former Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani resurfaced in November 2025 in which he boasts that Doha “had journalists on our payroll in many countries.”¹⁰³ This would not be surprising, given Qatar’s creation and control of the Al Jazeera Media Network, which asserts its independence but serves as the emirate’s global media arm, promoting Islamist and anti-Western content.¹⁰⁴ But Al Jazeera and its affiliates are only part of the Qatari media empire. Indeed, from broadcast media to movie studios, Qatar has sunk significant capital into the American mediascape.

Qatari royal Sheikh Sultan bin Jassim Al-Thani reportedly invested $50 million in Newsmax between 2019 and 2020 through his London-based investment firm, Heritage Advisors.¹⁰⁵ Documents submitted to the SEC in March 2025 show that Sheikh Sultan holds 19,737,553 shares, or 22.2 percent, of Newsmax. Based on the 52-week-low price at the time of writing, those shares are worth approximately $100.9 million.¹⁰⁶

In 2023, QIA invested $150 million in the North Road Company, the production studio behind hits like “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” “New Girl,” and “Love Is Blind.”¹⁰⁷ French media conglomerate Mediawan acquired North Road in January 2026 but QIA will reportedly maintain a minority share.¹⁰⁸

Qatar also owns Miramax films through its state-owned beIN Media Group. In 2016, beIN purchased Miramax for an undisclosed amount. However, reports suggested that the sellers — which included QIA and U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack’s Colony Capital — asked for as much as $1 billion. According to The New York Times, beIN sold 49 percent of Miramax to ViacomCBS in 2020 but remained the majority owner. ViacomCBS reportedly invested $375 million for its 49 percent stake, indicating that Qatar’s shares were worth approximately $390 million at the time of sale.¹⁰⁹

Qatar is also part of Paramount’s ongoing bid to takeover Warner Bros Discovery.¹¹⁰ SEC documents show that the Qatari, Saudi, and Emirati sovereign wealth funds offered “an aggregate $24 billion commitment.”¹¹¹ Qatar will reportedly own 10.6 percent of the company once the merger is complete.¹¹²

Social media is another area of investment. Qatar backed Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter to the tune of $375 million and has signed partnership agreements with TikTok, Snap Inc., and podcasting giant iHeartMedia.¹¹³ The monetary values of the agreements are not public.

As Qatar partners with social media platforms, it is also investing in their users. In November 2025, Qatar paid for a group of Republican influencers to visit Doha during the Formula One Grand Prix. The price tag of their trips is not reported.¹¹⁴

Technology

$156.5 million

Leveraging data from the SEC and business intelligence platform Crunchbase, it is clear that technology companies have raised funds from Qatari sources. In many cases, Qatar is listed as one of several investors who participated in a single financing round. The size of the funding rounds are public, but the amounts Qatar contributed are not specified.

One of Qatar’s major tech investments is in QuantumScape, a Silicon Valley firm that is developing rechargeable batteries for electric cars. Reuters reported in 2021 that Qatar owned approximately 4.7 percent of the company which, at the time, was worth a reported $446 million. Based on the 52-week-low share price at the time of this writing, Qatar’s 14.3 million shares are worth approximately $54.4 million.¹¹⁵

Other technology companies that have raised money from Qatari sources include:

• xAI — QIA participated in a $6 billion financing round in 2024 and a $20 billion round in 2026.¹¹⁶
• Uber — QIA participated in a $1.2 billion financing round in 2014. Bloomberg reported in 2018 that Qatar had invested $100 million.¹¹⁷
• Axiom Space — QIA co-led a $350 million fundraising round in 2026.¹¹⁸
• Vast — QIA participated in a $500 million fundraising round in 2026.¹¹⁹
• Gigamon — QIA jointly acquired the cybersecurity company in 2017. The valuation was approximately $1.6 billion.¹²⁰
• Instabase — QIA participated in a $100 million financing round in 2025.¹²¹
• Cresta — QIA co-led a $125 million financing round in 2024.¹²²
• Databricks — QIA participated in a $10 billion financing round in 2025.¹²³
• Applied Intuition — QIA participated in a $600 million financing round in 2025.¹²⁴
• Mesosphere — QIA participated in a $125 million fundraising round in 2018.¹²⁵
• SoFi — QIA led a fundraising round in 2019 that raised over $500 million.¹²⁶
• GamerBoom — MBK Holding, an investment firm chaired by Qatari royal Mansoor Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, participated in a $9 million venture round in 2025.¹²⁷
• d-Matrix — QIA participated in a $275 million financing round in 2025.¹²⁸

Financial Sector

$26.8 billion

Affinity Partners, the investment firm of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, has benefited from Qatari support. The New York Times reported in 2023 that the UAE had invested “more than $200 million” in Affinity, and that “a Qatari entity invested a similar sum.”¹²⁹ In May 2025, Kushner said that QIA and an Emirati firm invested an additional $1.5 billion in Affinity.¹³⁰ He did not specify how much of that sum came from Qatar and thus no additional cash was added to the total in this memo.¹³¹ Former Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin’s Liberty Strategic Capital also reportedly received a $500 million commitment from Qatar.¹³² Most recently, QIA signed a $25 billion memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Goldman Sachs.

Additionally, filings submitted to the SEC show that QIA holds stock in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Global Business Travel Group, and Blackstone Secured Lending Fund.¹³³ IlWaddi Holdings, which is run by Qatari royal Sheikh Jassim Abdulaziz Al-Thani, likewise holds stock in AlTi Global.¹³⁴

Venture capital appears to be a growing priority for Qatar. In February 2024, Doha launched a $1 billion “Fund of Funds” program to “create a vibrant venture capital and start-up ecosystem” in Qatar “by providing financial resources and support services” to fund managers abroad.¹³⁵ Qatar expanded the program by $2 billion in February 2026. To date, over a half-dozen U.S. companies have received undisclosed sums through the program, including Greycroft, Liberty City Ventures, Ion Pacific, B Capital, Deerfield Management, Human Capital, Builders VC, and Founders Circle Capital.¹³⁶

Culture and Americana

$26.2 million

American history appears to be a particular area of philanthropic interest. Qatar made a $20 million donation to the Richard Nixon Foundation in 2023 “to build a new hall at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum designed to house large-scale, rotating and traveling education exhibitions and programs.”¹³⁷ The same year, Qatar pledged $5 million to the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas.¹³⁸ Lifetime donations from the Qatar Fund for Development to the Carter Center, a nonprofit organization founded by former President Jimmy Carter, exceed $1 million.¹³⁹

Meanwhile, the Embassy of Qatar appeared on the International Spy Museum’s list of donors in 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024.¹⁴⁰ Qatar likewise signed an MOU with the Smithsonian Institute in 2020 and donated an undisclosed amount to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 2022.¹⁴¹

Conclusion

The United States should welcome foreign investment. But America isn’t a charity, nor is it for sale. Washington should not allow foreign governments to purchase influence unchecked and without proper transparency. Policymakers must start asking when foreign investment becomes a deliberate tool of foreign influence, and what risks come with investments from a country like Qatar, which has a documented history of funding terrorist groups including Hamas, the Taliban, and the Muslim Brotherhood.

One month after returning to office, Trump issued the “America First Investment Policy,” a memo declaring his administration’s intention to “make the United States the world’s greatest destination for investment dollars, to the benefit of all of us.” But Trump’s memorandum rightly noted that “investment at all costs is not always in the national interest.”¹⁴² Qatar may have persuaded successive presidents that it deserves to be a Major Non-NATO Ally, but the Persian Gulf emirate often conducts itself in ways unworthy of the name. The U.S. government has yet to soberly assess Qatari partnerships and investments despite wanting to ensure that “foreign investors avoid partnering with United States foreign adversaries.” The $400 billion of wealth Qatar has directed into the United States warrants much greater scrutiny.