The Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani Museum sits 14 miles west of Doha, the capital of Qatar. A desert fortress with stone turrets and arched wooden doors, the museum’s 15 halls hold more than 15,000 artifacts, including ancient Qurans, Yemeni daggers and vintage American cars.

The Al Thani museum is home to a collection belonging to Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, owner of Al Faisal Holding, a Doha-based conglomerate that operates about 50 businesses in nine industries. It’s also a symbol of the wealth that’s been accumulated by Qatari businessmen during the past four decades.

“We are lucky to live in a country with a rapidly growing economy,” Al Thani, 65, said in a March 16 e-mail. “In order to benefit from this economic boom, one has to take the initiative and be willing to seize opportunities.”

Through Al Faisal and its publicly traded subsidiary, Aamal Company, Al Thani has assembled a collection of luxury hotels and commercial real estate properties in six countries. He has a net worth of at least $2.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and has never appeared on an international wealth ranking.

Al Thani’s success is linked to Qatar’s, which has the world’s third-largest natural gas reserves and the highest per capita income, according to the International Monetary Fund. Demand for gas has helped Qatar quadruple its gross domestic product during the past decade, compared to a doubling in Turkey and a 33 percent rise in the U.S, according to data compiled by the World Bank.

Gas Production

The Connecticut-sized country’s GDP is expected to expand by 5 percent in 2014, more than Turkey or Brazil, according to data compiled by the International Monetary Fund. Qatar’s liquefied natural gas production, almost all of which is controlled by the state, has helped boost Al Thani’s businesses, including real estate, hotels, for-profit schools and the country’s biggest industrial laundry service.

“The oil and especially gas sectors provide enormous ‘rents’ or royalty income,” Matthew Gray, an associate professor at the Australian National University in Canberra, and author of “Qatar: Politics and the Challenges of Development,” said in a March 6 e-mail.

Al Thani is part of Qatar’s ruling family, the largest of all the Gulf countries which, including extended members and in- laws, account for as many as one-fifth of Qatar’s 300,000 citizens, according to Gray. The royalty income generated by oil and gas sales trickles down to consumers through government spending and subsidies that encourage foreign investment and trade, and benefit the private sector, he said.

Family Ties

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