Is Qatar Trying to Buy America?
- Ofek Kehila
- May 15
- 2 min read
Updated: May 16
Qatar has spent nearly $100 billion in the US, from business investments to colleges and universities, thus raising a troubling question: Is Qatar trying to buy America? And, what does it want in return?
Why this matters
Qatar has spent $93.7 billion in the US
Qatar also finances terrorism and restricts civil liberties
Many believe that Qatar strives to leverage money for influence in America
Qatar: Big money spender in America
Qatar has spent $93.7 billion in the US, extending its influence in areas as diverse as politics, economics, industry, and education. Qatar’s spending in the US, as reported by The Free Press, includes:
Business investments: $30 billion
Weapons purchases: $29.2 billion
Energy plants and export facilities: $20 billion
Al Udeid Air Base: $8 billion
Colleges and universities: $6.3 billion
Lobbying and public relations: $224 million
Qatar: Terrorism financier and civil rights abuser
At the same time, Qatar finances terrorism across the globe, with an estimated $1.8 billion poured into the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and support of the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaeda. Moreover, many people living in Qatar, such as migrant workers, women, and LGBTI people, face discrimination and serious human rights abuses. Civil liberties such as freedom of expression and freedom of the press are also highly restricted in Qatar.
Qatar buys influence across elite US campuses
Qatar has poured nearly $100 billion into the US, leading many to believe that the rich Gulf state strives to leverage money for influence in America. The case of US academia is illustrative of that point.
Most foreign funding to American institutions of higher education comes from Qatar, which has donated $6.3 billion to US colleges and universities since 1986. Among the top universities that benefited from this money are Carnegie Mellon University, Cornell University, Harvard University, and MIT.
Since Qatar is a constitutional monarchy, with reported human rights abuses and restrictions on civil liberties, many fear that its donations could exert a negative influence on the core values of US academia, such as autonomy, integrity, academic freedom, and transparency.
Only time will tell if an investigation will be conducted by US authorities regarding Qatari money flowing into American business, industry, and academia, the amount of which is astronomical.
Ofek Kehila (Israel, 1987) is a scholar of Spanish Golden Age literature and Latin American literature of the 20th and 21st centuries. His research bridges the gap between those traditions, highlighting their aesthetic, cultural, and historical dialogue. He holds a PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2022) and was a postdoctoral fellow at Freie Universität Berlin (2023-2025).