At that time, he said, Qatar was still rural and isolated.
“When I started my business, communications were very limited,” Al Thani said in the e-mail. “We were only exposed to the outside world through traveling.”
As more oil revenue flowed into Qatar in the 1970s, Al Thani diversified to meet the needs of the country’s growing economy. He formed a construction-materials company, Linx Qatar, and expanded into paint supply, gas stations and car washes.
“Starting a business is not a challenge, but making a business successful is,” Al Thani said. He declined to comment on his net worth.
Al Thani has been diversifying abroad, acquiring a Four Seasons hotel in Cairo, a Grand Hyatt in Berlin and the Radisson Blu Aqua in Chicago. He paid $318 million in 2011 for the W hotel in London’s Leicester Square, and bought Miami’s St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort for $213 million in January.
“Our vision is to build a renowned portfolio of prominent hotels in terms of brand, location and architectural design,” he said. The recent non-Qatari acquisitions, he said, “have all these elements.”