DLNews Staff:

What do you do if you want to become a tennis pro and money is not an issue? First, you take training lessons from Boris Becker.

Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani gives the opening speech of the World Cup. To his right is FIFA boss Gianni Infantino, far right: Mohammed bin Salman, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ("Blood Sheikh"). To the left of the Emir, his father, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and the King of Jordan, Abdullah II bin al-Hussein

Although he flew the Wimbledon winner to Qatar as a teenager, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (42) could not become a professional tennis player. So instead, he became: the Emir of Qatar. He is feared; he spreads terror. And he is hosting the 2022 World Cup.

Born in Doha, the fourth son of the third Emir, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (70). Elite boarding school in England, graduating from Sandhurst Military Academy in 1998, Princes William and Harry attended. After that, an officer in the Qatari Armed Forces. He was elected Crown Prince by his father in 2003.

View of the Palace of the Emir of Doha.

On June 25, 2013, the old Emir resigned; he had diabetes and two new kidneys. He announces: "A new generation with innovative ideas and full of energy is taking over the responsibility." Barely 33 years old, Sheikh Tamim becomes head of state for 280,000 Qataris.

The Doha skyline - everything here is in the hands of the Emir and his family.

The new Emir sees sport as an opportunity to make his small country known and popular: he organizes the Asian Games. He brings the swimming, cycling, and handball world championships to Qatar. Bids for the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games fails, wants to try again in 2032.

Qatar has a 5.1% stake in British bank Barclays.

The 2022 World Cup will cost the emirate an estimated 215 billion Dollars. But, for the sheiks, money is just printed paper: according to the Telegraph, the sovereign wealth fund QIA (Qatar Investment Authority) owns three times more real estate in London than the Queen.

The Emir bought the French club Paris Saint-Germain and shopped for top stars like Neymar, Mbappé, and Messi.

The Emir, 1.90 m tall, husband of three wives, father of 13 children, is courteous, they say.

He governs his emirate with an iron fist: no free press, no parties, no free elections. Homosexuality is banned, thieves are whipped, and the more than 2 million migrant workers who run the country are exploited.

Qatar State Fund owns 10% of the Empire State Realty Trust (bought in 2016 for $622 million.

It was not until 2015, five years after the World Cup was awarded that labor law was relaxed – under international pressure: migrant workers are now allowed to leave their jobs and the country without the permission of their bosses.

Qatar Holding bought the luxury department store Harrods for 1.8 billion dollars.

"Every country, big or small, has a role to play," Sheikh Tamim told French magazine Le Point. The role of his kingdom: the land that can buy anything. Cost what it may.

In this way, Qatar gained immeasurable wealth.

The source of the family's wealth (300 billion Dollars) is gas. In 1995 Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (then 43) overthrew his father and invested 20 billion dollars in a gas liquefaction plant.

Today Qatar is the largest supplier of liquid gas in the world. Purchasing power per capita: 90,000 dollars/year. Education, electricity, and water are free.

The sovereign wealth fund owns parts of Barclays Bank, Credit Suisse, and Deutsche Bank.

The Qataris are u. a. involved in VW, Porsche, Siemens, and energy supplier RWE.

Pure glamor. Musa bint Nasser Al Missnedin Valentino hung with pure gold.

The Emir's mother brought glamor to Qatar.

Musa bint Nasser Al Missned (63), the Emir's mother, is the second of his father's three wives.

An unusually public figure for an Arab country, she posed with Queen Elizabeth II and Michelle Obama and for a fashion spread in Vogue.

The sheik brought branches of American universities to Qatar, acted as a UNESCO special representative for education, and founded a philharmonic orchestra with musicians from 30 nations.

Al-Mayasa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in front of the National Museum: It is supposed to represent sand rose in the desert.

The sister shops the art in Qatar

Al-Mayasa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (39) heads the emirate's museum authority and is considered one of the most influential women in the global art world.

Not an art connoisseur (degree in political science and literature) - but with an unlimited budget: 1 billion dollars/year. She acquired works by Paul Gauguin, Francis Bacon, and Damien Hirst.

In 2011, she paid 250 million dollars for Paul Cézanne's "Card Player."